Our Campaigns - UK Parliament - Westmorland & Lonsdale Race

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UK Parliament - Westmorland & Lonsdale

RACE DETAILS

Parents

> United Kingdom > England > North West > North West > Westmorland & Lonsdale

Office

Parliament

Honorific

Member of Parliament - Abbr: MP

Type

General Election

Filing Deadline

April 20, 2010 - 06:00pm Central

Polls Open

May 06, 2010 - 01:00am Central

Polls Close

May 06, 2010 - 04:00pm Central

Term Start

May 17, 2010 - 12:00pm

Term End

May 17, 2015 - 12:00pm

Contributor

Ralphie

Last Modified

Ralphie May 08, 2010 02:54pm

Data Sources

[Link]

Description

BBC Profile:
This constituency was dominated by the Conservatives for more than 50 years until 2005 when Liberal Democrat Tim Farron took the seat with a majority of 267.

At the election, the seat loses the ward of Broughton and the part-ward of Crake Valley to Barrow and Furness. 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.

Situated in the heart of the Lake District, Westmorland and Lonsdale boasts spectacular scenery and unsurprisingly, tourism is the main industry. Centred around the towns of Kendal and Windermere, the seat also includes parts of both the Lake District National Park and the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Agriculture, particularly sheep farming, has traditionally been a key employer in this rural constituency, although more constituents are now employed in tourism.

There is also some light industry to be found, especially in Kendal, home to textiles and the famous mint cake. Visitor numbers are boosted by literary connections to Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Beatrix Potter.

Kendal is well served by both road and rail links. In April 2008 the 35.3 million A590 High and Low Newton by-pass opened, drastically reducing traffic levels in the villages of High and Low Newton.

Rallings & Thrasher Notional:
LD 21,829 (45.95%)
C 21,023 (44.25%)
Lab 3,712 (7.81%)
UKIP 632 (1.33%)
Others 309 (0.65%)