Gavin Gamble’s e-petition continues to motor along – it passed 44,000 signatures this morning and must, surely, be heading for well above 45,000 signatures by midnight on Monday?
Generally speaking, we know that support for banning driven grouse shooting is greatest from rural constituencies (not townies at all). But all signatures count, and there are some towns and cities that are split into two (or three or even more) constituencies. If one could understand these differences it would tell us something about why we see the patterns nationally that we do. These things interest me…
Maybe they’ll interest you too. And maybe someone will read this blog and come up with completely convincing answers. Here are some examples to get your brains working.
Swansea East 20 : 33 Swansea East
Newport West 41 : 35 Newport East
Dundee West 51 : 70 Dundee East
Reading West 66 : 98 Reading East
Brighton Pavilion 143 : 81 Brighton Kemptown
Aberdeen North 52 : 61 Aberdeen South
Swindon North 62 : 59 Swindon South
Northampton North 51 : 30 Northampton South
Norwich North 76 : 132 Norwich South
Plymouth, Moor View 49 : 81 Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
Portsmouth North 56 : 55 Portsmouth South
Bury North 48 : 66 Bury South
Derby North 61 : 47 Derby South
Stockton North 21 : 52 Stockton South
Dudley North 15 : 27 Dudley South
Milton Keynes North 75 : 74 Milton Keynes South
Luton North 31 : 35 Luton South
Please sign Gavin Gamble’s e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting whichever side of town you live.
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Just another 80,000 to go to get us back to where we were before Gavin did this. Then we can start doing the stuff we would have done before this petition only now with a smaller mandate and fighting evidence of a decline in support. Gavin totally Theresa May’d us.
Random22,With friends like you who needs enemy’s.
Out of interest, then…
Oxford West & Abingdon (Lib Dem) 119 – 89 Oxford East (Labour) at time of posting…
Oxford East was largely industrial (Morris Motors, Pressed Steel, British Leyland, BMW, John Allen Cranes, Nuffield Press). It is where I was born and grew up. As industrial employment declined, so NHS employment increased (JR Hospital Trust, Churchill Hospital, Nuffield Orthopaedic). It consists of largely working class suburbs and newer working class estates with large immigrant populations, together with some middle class areas.
It is quite strongly a Labour-voting urban constituency.
Oxford West & Abingdon is largely non-industrial (Oxford University, Radcliffe Infirmary, Harwell Atomic Energy Research Establishment) with some industrial history (Oxford University Paper Mill and Press, Morris Radiators, MG Motors, Abingdon Tannery, but most now long gone). It is where I now live. It is much more middle class, with smaller working class areas.
It alternates between voting Conservative and Liberal Democrat. It is a combined suburban and rural constituency.
(No ward in the City of Oxford has ever returned a Conservative Councillor since the days of Thatcher. I no longer think that is a good thing: there is a degree of incompetence and complacency and no small amount of corruption)
I do not know, but I suspect that there are more members of the Ashmolean Natural History Society of Oxfordshire – the oldest in England – living in Oxford West & Abingdon than in Oxford East. I also suspect that there are more members of the Oxford Ornithological Society living in Oxford West & Abingdon than in Oxford East. I am not so sure about membership of the RSPB, but it may well also follow that pattern.
This indicates to me that primarily urban dwellers are less directly exposed to nature than those whose environment is more suburban or rural. They probably also have less time, and money, to indulge in such pasttimes? Their concerns are probably more orientated toward employment, housing and social services?
I do not think that they necessarily care less, but the environmental message does not get through to them quite so easily.
The previous Conservative MP for Oxford West & Abingdon was a (luke warm) supporter of hunting. The previous Labour MP for Oxford East was a supporter of greyhound racing. Neither being barely concerned about animal welfare issues.
I think the current two incumbents are very different in that regard, but probably not aware of this particular issue?
An addendum. I forgot(!), Oxford East also has Brookes University (a promoted Polytechnic) which has expanded considerably during the industrial decline of the constituency…