Kenilworth & Southam Constituency Profile

This new constituency consists of parts of the Districts of Rugby; Stratford on Avon and Warwick.

It straddles the M40 corridor, one of the major routes between the Midlands and the South-East. There are around 60,000 electors. Kenilworth is the largest town with about one third of the electorate. The population is predominantly White British with only 1.5% from other ethnic groups. Though still a rural area, agriculture provides little employment. Many people commute to work in the major centres outside of the constituency, including Birmingham, Coventry, Banbury and Solihull. Within the constituency there are national centres of excellence, including Warwick University, the National Agricultural Centre, Ryton Organic Gardens, and major motor industry facilities, including Ford at Gaydon.

The surrounding areas are an interesting political mix. Solihull has a Liberal Democrat MP (Lorely Burt). Rugby used to have a Labour MP but went Conservative last time and is likely to switch again with the boundary changes. A Labour MP holds Warwick & Leamington at present, although it is a marginal constituency with a strong Lib Dem presence.

The existing Stratford constituency is Conservative with a strong opposition from the Lib Dems.

Can the Lib Dems win the new seat of Kenilworth & Southam? What is the political make up of the new constituency? No-one can say with absolute certainty. One thing fairly clear from history is that Labour cannot win the new seat - it will be a contest between the Lib Dems and the Conservatives. The last time there was a full electoral test the Conservatives took almost half the vote and the Lib Dems a third of the vote.

Liberal Democrat PPC Nigel Rock says "I believe that an MP's first job is to represent their constituents. I feel I can identify with the people here because my roots are in Warwickshire and I shall continue to work for local people. The new area is an unknown quantity in electoral terms. I think the Liberal Democrats could do well here."