BBC Profile:
Founded in its present form in 1983, the area has returned Conservative MPs since the Second World War. The seat provided incumbent Kenneth Baker a platform to make his way up the ministerial ladder and become Home Secretary in 1990.
He became Lord Baker in 1997 and the new candidate was Sir Paul Beresford, a New Zealand born dentist. After losing the selection contest for his expanded old seat, Croydon Central, he moved to Surrey and held Mole Valley with a majority of 10,221. In 2001 little changed and Sir Pauls vote lead dropped only slightly to 10,153 and four years later his majority increased to 11,997.
At the election, the seat gains the part-ward of Leatherhead South from Epsom and Ewell, in exchange for the part-wards of Ashtead Common, Ashtead Park and Ashtead Village. 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.
This is a prosperous, middle-class corner of the Home Counties, incorporating the market town of Dorking and the surrounding Surrey Hills area of outstanding natural beauty, Leatherhead and a number of wealthy commuter villages.
Charlwood, in the extreme south of the constituency, borders Gatwick airport.
There are beauty spots like Box Hill and Leith Hill, and a considerable amount of mixed farming. Dorking attracts visitors to its famous antique shops.
Traditionally, there has been little industry in the constituency itself, b
[More...]
BBC Profile:
Founded in its present form in 1983, the area has returned Conservative MPs since the Second World War. The seat provided incumbent Kenneth Baker a platform to make his way up the ministerial ladder and become Home Secretary in 1990.
He became Lord Baker in 1997 and the new candidate was Sir Paul Beresford, a New Zealand born dentist. After losing the selection contest for his expanded old seat, Croydon Central, he moved to Surrey and held Mole Valley with a majority of 10,221. In 2001 little changed and Sir Pauls vote lead dropped only slightly to 10,153 and four years later his majority increased to 11,997.
At the election, the seat gains the part-ward of Leatherhead South from Epsom and Ewell, in exchange for the part-wards of Ashtead Common, Ashtead Park and Ashtead Village. 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.
This is a prosperous, middle-class corner of the Home Counties, incorporating the market town of Dorking and the surrounding Surrey Hills area of outstanding natural beauty, Leatherhead and a number of wealthy commuter villages.
Charlwood, in the extreme south of the constituency, borders Gatwick airport.
There are beauty spots like Box Hill and Leith Hill, and a considerable amount of mixed farming. Dorking attracts visitors to its famous antique shops.
Traditionally, there has been little industry in the constituency itself, but firms have moved to Leatherhead, which is close to the M25 and has good rail links to London; it hosts the national headquarters of Esso, and the consultant engineers Halliburton Brown and Root opened their European and African headquarters in a large office complex in 1997.
There are finance and insurance firms, software companies and manufacturers of refrigerators and photo booths. The National Grid has its research and development base here, and the National Trust its regional headquarters at Polesden Lacey.
The Leatherhead corridor section of the river Mole has become a local nature reserve. Mole Valley district council hopes gradually to involve other landowners on the stretch of water to expand the reserve.
Rallings & Thrasher Notional:
No Boundary Changes
[Less...]