BBC Profile:
In the years following World War II, Bristol West was held by the Conservatives, remaining even when the other Tory seats in the city, Bristol East and Bristol North West, fell to Labour. Valerie Davey, the Labour candidate, took the seat in the 1997 general election.

Davey held the seat in 2001 with a 4,426-vote majority, but in a three-way contest in 2005 Stephen Williams won Bristol West for the Liberal Democrats, with a majority 5,128.

Boundary changes for this election will see the wards of Stoke Bishop and Westbury-upon-Trym going to Bristol North West, while the wards of Easton and Lawrence Hill come into the seat from Bristol East. 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.

In many ways, Bristol West might be considered the most diverse of the city's constituencies, with its unusual mix of students, ethnic minorities and wealthy professionals.

The character of the constituency is quite diverse. In the west there are elegant architecture, shops and trendy restaurants. Areas such as Cotham, Redland and Clifton are popular with the upper middle classes, whereas Ashley, Easton and Lawrence Hill are more working-class and ethnically diverse.

Historically, the proportion of students in this seat has always been quite high: nearly one in 10 of the constituency's dwellers is a student. Bristol University is a major employer in the constituency.

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BBC Profile:
In the years following World War II, Bristol West was held by the Conservatives, remaining even when the other Tory seats in the city, Bristol East and Bristol North West, fell to Labour. Valerie Davey, the Labour candidate, took the seat in the 1997 general election.

Davey held the seat in 2001 with a 4,426-vote majority, but in a three-way contest in 2005 Stephen Williams won Bristol West for the Liberal Democrats, with a majority 5,128.

Boundary changes for this election will see the wards of Stoke Bishop and Westbury-upon-Trym going to Bristol North West, while the wards of Easton and Lawrence Hill come into the seat from Bristol East. 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.

In many ways, Bristol West might be considered the most diverse of the city's constituencies, with its unusual mix of students, ethnic minorities and wealthy professionals.

The character of the constituency is quite diverse. In the west there are elegant architecture, shops and trendy restaurants. Areas such as Cotham, Redland and Clifton are popular with the upper middle classes, whereas Ashley, Easton and Lawrence Hill are more working-class and ethnically diverse.

Historically, the proportion of students in this seat has always been quite high: nearly one in 10 of the constituency's dwellers is a student. Bristol University is a major employer in the constituency. Bristol West is said to have the highest concentration of residents with doctoral degrees of any constituency in the UK.

Rallings & Thrasher Notional:
LD 17,599 (39.06%)
Lab 16,452 (36.51%)
C 7,373 (16.36%)
Green 2,545 (5.65%)
UKIP 568 (1.26%)
Others 519 (1.15%)

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