BBC Profile:
The seat has been held by the Conservatives since the Second World War, often with around 60% of the vote.

The party's majorities began to decrease from the late 1980s, but their hold on the seat has remained firm. Dr Julian Lewis has held the seat since 1997, securing a majority of over 6,000 votes in 2005.

At the election, the seat gains the part-ward of Boldre and Sway from New Forest West. 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.

Encompassing a broad swathe of the famous Hampshire woodland and heath, known for its wild ponies, as well as significant shipping and petrochemical industries, New Forest East is a diverse constituency, at least economically.

The affluent villages of the forest and a clutch of wealthy seaside settlements provide the seat's middle-class base, but these are offset by the economic presence of the shipping and related industries.

The electorate is concentrated in the Waterside area in the east of the seat, principally in the towns of Totton, Marchwood, Hythe and Dibden. The Fawley oil refinery on the western shore of Southampton Water can be seen for miles around and is the single largest employer in the area, with thousands more employed in engineering, transport and manufacturing.

The western half of the seat, by contrast, is green, attractive, affluent and socially far more traditional and similar to the New Fores

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BBC Profile:
The seat has been held by the Conservatives since the Second World War, often with around 60% of the vote.

The party's majorities began to decrease from the late 1980s, but their hold on the seat has remained firm. Dr Julian Lewis has held the seat since 1997, securing a majority of over 6,000 votes in 2005.

At the election, the seat gains the part-ward of Boldre and Sway from New Forest West. 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.

Encompassing a broad swathe of the famous Hampshire woodland and heath, known for its wild ponies, as well as significant shipping and petrochemical industries, New Forest East is a diverse constituency, at least economically.

The affluent villages of the forest and a clutch of wealthy seaside settlements provide the seat's middle-class base, but these are offset by the economic presence of the shipping and related industries.

The electorate is concentrated in the Waterside area in the east of the seat, principally in the towns of Totton, Marchwood, Hythe and Dibden. The Fawley oil refinery on the western shore of Southampton Water can be seen for miles around and is the single largest employer in the area, with thousands more employed in engineering, transport and manufacturing.

The western half of the seat, by contrast, is green, attractive, affluent and socially far more traditional and similar to the New Forest West seat. Lyndhurst and Brockenhurst are among the best-known beauty spots, and the Forest is a major attraction for tourists, ramblers and hunters.

Rallings & Thrasher Notional:
C 23,333 (49.41%)
LD 15,680 (33.20%)
Lab 5,787 (12.25%)
UKIP 2,422 (5.13%)

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