Bedfordshire North East
Conservative hold

This safe Conservative seat includes Sandy and Biggleswade on the A1's non-motorway section, formerly in Mid Beds, and a large number of very Conservative villages at the northern end of the county. It should secure a swift return to Parliament for local resident and ex-member for Bury North, Alistair Burt, a 'caring' Tory who was Minister for Social Security and Disabled People in John Major's last cabinet. Sir Nicholas Lyell, the former Attorney-General, is retiring, and in spite of a massive 14pc swing to Labour in the 1997 election bequeathes a 6,000 majority.

Alistair Burt, solicitor and former MP for Bury North, has replaced the departing former Attorney General Sir Nicholas Lyell as Conservative candidate here. Though first elected in the Thatcherite flood of 1983, he is a One Nation Tory, and yet one of a handful of the bloodied infantry of the 1997 campaign to be selected for a safe seat in the coming election, despite the advice from Central Office being not to chicken run, but ‘to stay in your infantry trenches'. He had to wait for Margaret Thatcher's fall before getting a government post, and by the end of the Major government he was Social Security minister responsible for the disabled and the Child Support Agency. An active Christian, born in 1955, and educated at Bury Grammar School and St John's College, Oxford, his record puts him at odds with the current Opposition front bench.

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 33.27% 14.99% 221.87 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 0.50% 2.13% 23.56 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 0.11% 2.49% 4.28 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 8.41% 4.43% 189.96 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 14.96% 7.27% 205.66 Rising Affluent Urbanites, Town & City Areas 0.27% 2.56% 10.44 Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas 0.27% 2.04% 13.22 Better-Off Executives, Inner City Areas 0.10% 3.94% 2.64 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 19.93% 13.04% 152.81 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 8.22% 12.70% 64.75 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 5.77% 8.14% 70.83 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 0.13% 4.02% 3.21 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 1.55% 3.19% 48.59 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 6.14% 11.31% 54.32 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 0.00% 3.06% 0.00 Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship 0.00% 2.52% 0.00 People in Multi-Ethnic, Low-Income Areas 0.00% 2.10% 0.00 Unclassified Unclassified 0.38% 0.06% 612.13

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   £0-5K 5.63% 9.41% 59.82 £5-10K 11.80% 16.63% 70.96 £10-15K 13.83% 16.58% 83.40 £15-20K 12.92% 13.58% 95.14 £20-25K 10.97% 10.39% 105.53 £25-30K 8.90% 7.77% 114.48 £30-35K 7.07% 5.79% 122.05 £35-40K 5.56% 4.33% 128.41 £40-45K 4.37% 3.27% 133.72 £45-50K 3.43% 2.48% 138.16 £50-55K 2.70% 1.90% 141.87 £55-60K 2.14% 1.47% 144.98 £60-65K 1.70% 1.15% 147.59 £65-70K 1.36% 0.91% 149.79 £70-75K 1.09% 0.72% 151.66 £75-80K 0.88% 0.57% 153.25 £80-85K 0.72% 0.46% 154.61 £85-90K 0.58% 0.37% 155.78 £90-95K 0.48% 0.31% 156.80 £95-100K 0.39% 0.25% 157.69 £100K + 2.17% 1.34% 161.33