Doncaster North
Labour hold

Unlike Don Valley and Doncaster Central, North is an overwhelmingly Labour seat which consists of communities created by and for coal mining, from Bentley and Adwick le Street to the west to the flatter lands of Thorne and Stainforth, low lying among the dykes, where coal was exploited more recently, in the twentieth century. There have been problems surrounding corruption in the local Labour party in recent years, but this does not seem to have affected the grip of MP Kevin Hughes, and in 1997 an anti-sleaze candidate only won 1,161 preferences here after a far more low profile campaign than that of Martin Bell in Tatton.

Labour’s Kevin Hughes, elected here in 1992, is one of only three ex-miners left in Yorkshire coalfield seats, three of his immediate neighbours being women from London. He was born in 1952, educated at secondary modern and on day release at Sheffield University. As a face worker for 15 years, he has naturally spent much time opposing the run-down of the coalfield, but compensates as a whip by exhibiting a ‘sense of discipline (which) makes Joe Stalin look like a primary school teacher’. An ex-Communist (until aged 20), his beard - unBlairlike - seems rather to go and come.

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 4.76% 14.99% 31.72 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 0.64% 2.13% 30.01 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 0.35% 2.49% 14.22 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 1.21% 4.43% 27.31 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 8.02% 7.27% 110.29 Rising Affluent Urbanites, Town & City Areas 0.00% 2.56% 0.00 Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas 0.00% 2.04% 0.00 Better-Off Executives, Inner City Areas 0.00% 3.94% 0.00 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 7.74% 13.04% 59.35 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 20.32% 12.70% 159.97 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 21.75% 8.14% 267.10 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 0.00% 4.02% 0.00 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 1.85% 3.19% 58.16 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 29.44% 11.31% 260.32 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 0.31% 3.06% 10.04 Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship 3.61% 2.52% 143.27 People in Multi-Ethnic, Low-Income Areas 0.00% 2.10% 0.00 Unclassified Unclassified 0.00% 0.06% 0.00

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   £0-5K 15.12% 9.41% 160.57 £5-10K 23.66% 16.63% 142.22 £10-15K 19.79% 16.58% 119.38 £15-20K 13.67% 13.58% 100.66 £20-25K 8.95% 10.39% 86.16 £25-30K 5.82% 7.77% 74.89 £30-35K 3.82% 5.79% 65.98 £35-40K 2.55% 4.33% 58.82 £40-45K 1.73% 3.27% 52.96 £45-50K 1.19% 2.48% 48.09 £50-55K 0.84% 1.90% 44.00 £55-60K 0.60% 1.47% 40.53 £60-65K 0.43% 1.15% 37.55 £65-70K 0.32% 0.91% 34.97 £70-75K 0.24% 0.72% 32.72 £75-80K 0.18% 0.57% 30.75 £80-85K 0.13% 0.46% 29.01 £85-90K 0.10% 0.37% 27.46 £90-95K 0.08% 0.31% 26.08 £95-100K 0.06% 0.25% 24.85 £100K + 0.26% 1.34% 19.69