Finchley & Golders Green
Labour hold

John Marshall, the MP for Hendon South from 1987 to 1997, tries again to regain what is effectively his old seat from one of Labour's more unexpected winners in the latter year, Dutch-born Rudi Vis. Even after a 15pc swing, Vis was only 6pc ahead of Marshall, and the latter calculates sensibly that he has a good chance of turning the tables in 2001. It is certainly a better hope for the Conservatives than the other seat lost in Barnet borough, Hendon. However, this is a seat Labour will want to keep, if for no other reason because of the symbolic name of Finchley, Margaret Thatcher's constituency from 1959 to 1992. It is not certain that Marshall will win it back, though, for local election evidence suggests that Labour's vote in Barnet is holding up well, although they were probably behind in the Greater London Assembly elections here in 2000, though these were distorted by Ken Livingstone's candidature for Mayor and were not reported on a constituency basis, so one cannot be sure about this source.

Rudi Vis, one of two Dutchmen elected to the Commons in 1997 (the other being the Liberal Democrat Dr Peter Brand) was so surprised to win the seat that he asked how he was to deal with all the students who were waiting for him back at the University of East London. Born 1941, he attended High School in Alkmaar, Holland, the University of Maryland, US and Brunel University, where he acquired a doctorate in economics. A former Barnet councillor and committed Europhile, he focuses on disparate local concerns, such as opposing nuclear waste transporting through his constituency and sides with his Greek Cypriot minority against the Turks. But as he does not back the Orthodox Jewish 'eruv' zone in Hampstead Garden Suburb, he will have to hope more secular Jews still like him. Meanwhile John Marshall, the Tory he beat in 1997, is back. Born 1940, Glasgow Academy and Glasgow University-educated, former economics lecturer, stockbroker and ex-MEP for North London, he is a staunch Zionist in a seat with a very high concentration of influential Jewish voters. As MP he established a Commons reputation as an across-the-board right-winger on economic policy and on social questions such as abortion, capital punishment and homosexuality, which, linked with his Zionism, could be influential here.

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 11.71% 14.99% 78.09 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 0.00% 2.13% 0.00 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 2.73% 2.49% 109.75 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 0.06% 4.43% 1.40 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 0.03% 7.27% 0.39 Rising Affluent Urbanites, Town & City Areas 27.92% 2.56% 1,088.76 Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas 25.03% 2.04% 1,226.34 Better-Off Executives, Inner City Areas 8.03% 3.94% 203.70 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 2.42% 13.04% 18.57 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 0.07% 12.70% 0.58 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 0.67% 8.14% 8.26 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 12.65% 4.02% 314.65 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 0.01% 3.19% 0.37 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 0.77% 11.31% 6.77 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 5.80% 3.06% 189.37 Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship 0.62% 2.52% 24.58 People in Multi-Ethnic, Low-Income Areas 1.47% 2.10% 69.99 Unclassified Unclassified 0.00% 0.06% 0.00

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   £0-5K 4.08% 9.41% 43.33 £5-10K 8.92% 16.63% 53.61 £10-15K 11.32% 16.58% 68.29 £15-20K 11.47% 13.58% 84.43 £20-25K 10.48% 10.39% 100.80 £25-30K 9.08% 7.77% 116.78 £30-35K 7.65% 5.79% 132.04 £35-40K 6.34% 4.33% 146.43 £40-45K 5.22% 3.27% 159.89 £45-50K 4.28% 2.48% 172.42 £50-55K 3.51% 1.90% 184.06 £55-60K 2.87% 1.47% 194.85 £60-65K 2.36% 1.15% 204.85 £65-70K 1.94% 0.91% 214.12 £70-75K 1.60% 0.72% 222.72 £75-80K 1.33% 0.57% 230.71 £80-85K 1.10% 0.46% 238.13 £85-90K 0.92% 0.37% 245.03 £90-95K 0.77% 0.31% 251.46 £95-100K 0.64% 0.25% 257.45 £100K + 3.84% 1.34% 286.05