BBC Profile:
Paul Keetch won Hereford for the Liberal Democrats in 1997 with a 12.6% majority. The seat had previously been in Conservative control since 1929.
Both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives increased their share of the vote by a little over 2% in 2005.
Although a new constituency in name, Hereford and South Herefordshire remains extremely similar to the old Hereford constituency. The gain of a small part of Golden Valley North and the loss of part of Backbury and Old Gore to North Herefordshire are the extent of the change. To find out what might have happened had this boundary change been in force at the last election, see a notional - or estimated - result below.
It remains a rural constituency dominated in the west by the foothills of the Black Mountains on the Welsh border and in the south by the Wye Valley, with the city of Hereford at its heart.
The city of Hereford accounts for around 50% of the constituency's population. The city acts as the administrative, commercial, and retail hub for the large amount of surrounding rural countryside.
Light industry makes up much of the economy and the city is home to both a famous cattle market and the largest cider maker in the world.
Apart from Ross-on-Wye, with a population of around 10,000, the rest of the constituency is rural. Here, sparsely-populated villages intermingle with arable and livestock farming, and a healthy tourist industry.
The seat has an above average number of small e
[More...]BBC Profile:
Paul Keetch won Hereford for the Liberal Democrats in 1997 with a 12.6% majority. The seat had previously been in Conservative control since 1929.
Both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives increased their share of the vote by a little over 2% in 2005.
Although a new constituency in name, Hereford and South Herefordshire remains extremely similar to the old Hereford constituency. The gain of a small part of Golden Valley North and the loss of part of Backbury and Old Gore to North Herefordshire are the extent of the change. To find out what might have happened had this boundary change been in force at the last election, see a notional - or estimated - result below.
It remains a rural constituency dominated in the west by the foothills of the Black Mountains on the Welsh border and in the south by the Wye Valley, with the city of Hereford at its heart.
The city of Hereford accounts for around 50% of the constituency's population. The city acts as the administrative, commercial, and retail hub for the large amount of surrounding rural countryside.
Light industry makes up much of the economy and the city is home to both a famous cattle market and the largest cider maker in the world.
Apart from Ross-on-Wye, with a population of around 10,000, the rest of the constituency is rural. Here, sparsely-populated villages intermingle with arable and livestock farming, and a healthy tourist industry.
The seat has an above average number of small employers. There are a large number of people in semi-routine occupations, demonstrating the importance of agricultural and manufacturing sectors.
Rallings & Thrasher Notional:
LD 19,793 (43.39%)
C 18,704 (41.00%)
Lab 4,678 (10.25%)
Green 1,034 (2.27%)
UKIP 1,007 (2.21%)
Others 404 (0.89%)
[Less...]
22,366 (46.23%)