Hertfordshire North East
Conservative hold

Although a new name, Herts North East is essentially the old North Hertfordshire minus the town of Hitchin, plus some villages formerly in Hertford and Stortford. It is not quite so solidly Conservative as might be guessed, for its major population centre is Letchworth, the nation's first Garden city, founded in 1903 by the visionary Ebenezer Howard. Welwyn Garden City followed seventeen years later, also in Hertfordshire, but that made a grand total of two. Howard's hope that Garden City town planning, with geometrically laid out mixed class housing in self-contained and harmonious communities, like the aeroplane, which first flew in 1903, would be "harbingers for the new age" of the twentieth century. This comparison makes Letchworth seem rather ludicrous, but in fact subsequent planned developments have shown that it could have been very much worse. It remains mixed, and must have contributed substantially, along with the other towns of Baldock and Royston, to a Labour vote of 18,000 in 1997 which pressed Oliver Heald to a lead of scarcely over 3,000. This should be safe for another term after 2001.

Oliver Heald, a Tory Home Affairs spokesman, a Reading School and Cambridge (Pembroke)-educated employment law barrister, born 1954, was elected in 1992, and is a discreet loyalist, who was soon on the career ladder as PPS to William Waldegrave. Citing Willie Whitelaw as his mentor, he nevertheless voted for Michael Howard for leader in 1997 and opposed a single European currency. Hague made him a Whip in 1997. For Labour, Ivan Gibbons fought here in 1997. He was born 1950, educated at Belfast and Westminster universities, and has worked as a community education worker with ILEA and as a lecturer in cultural and community studies.

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 26.51% 14.99% 176.80 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 0.17% 2.13% 7.77 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 0.46% 2.49% 18.46 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 9.12% 4.43% 206.18 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 14.90% 7.27% 204.87 Rising Affluent Urbanites, Town & City Areas 3.98% 2.56% 155.38 Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas 0.00% 2.04% 0.05 Better-Off Executives, Inner City Areas 0.15% 3.94% 3.79 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 13.03% 13.04% 99.97 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 5.51% 12.70% 43.41 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 13.13% 8.14% 161.18 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 0.47% 4.02% 11.58 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 2.13% 3.19% 66.97 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 9.05% 11.31% 80.05 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 0.28% 3.06% 9.12 Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship 0.60% 2.52% 23.77 People in Multi-Ethnic, Low-Income Areas 0.48% 2.10% 23.03 Unclassified Unclassified 0.02% 0.06% 28.66

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   £0-5K 6.38% 9.41% 67.75 £5-10K 12.24% 16.63% 73.58 £10-15K 13.76% 16.58% 82.98 £15-20K 12.59% 13.58% 92.72 £20-25K 10.60% 10.39% 102.04 £25-30K 8.61% 7.77% 110.70 £30-35K 6.87% 5.79% 118.65 £35-40K 5.45% 4.33% 125.90 £40-45K 4.33% 3.27% 132.50 £45-50K 3.44% 2.48% 138.50 £50-55K 2.74% 1.90% 143.97 £55-60K 2.20% 1.47% 148.95 £60-65K 1.77% 1.15% 153.50 £65-70K 1.43% 0.91% 157.67 £70-75K 1.16% 0.72% 161.50 £75-80K 0.95% 0.57% 165.03 £80-85K 0.78% 0.46% 168.28 £85-90K 0.64% 0.37% 171.30 £90-95K 0.53% 0.31% 174.10 £95-100K 0.44% 0.25% 176.70 £100K + 2.55% 1.34% 189.68