Rotherham
Labour hold

A dramatic industrial scene used to fringe the road through the east end of Sheffield to Rotherham, that of the now defunct and demolished Tinsley British Steel works. The huge out of town shopping centre of Meadowhall occupies part of the site, but despite the vast retailing turnover there the overall mood of Rotherham is still harsh, undeniably working class, and almost uniformly Labour. Even the local council is not subject to the kind of incursions, often from the Liberal Democrats, found in other Labour urban strongholds, and that means that Denis MacShane's parliamentary seat is doubly secure.

Denis MacShane, a metropolitan journalist dropped into this dying coal and steel seat for the byelection in 1994, is a Foreign Office PPS misleadingly self-described as "a Eurosceptic who is profoundly pro-European." In fact he is one of the Labour Party's most committed Europhiles, as befits a former Geneva-based trade union organiser, married to a French-Vietnamese wife, and himself the son of a Polish émigré, Jan Mayjaszek. Born 1948 - his surname that of his mother - and educated at a Catholic grammar school, Merton College Oxford and London University, where he acquired a doctorate in economics, he is something of a loner, of whom it has been cruelly said (by David Aaronovitch of The Independent) that "nobody likes a smart-arse, so he always speaks in tones of mingled pity and condescension".

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 3.98% 14.99% 26.57 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 0.15% 2.13% 7.24 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 0.24% 2.49% 9.83 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 0.79% 4.43% 17.89 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 11.98% 7.27% 164.76 Rising Affluent Urbanites, Town & City Areas 0.02% 2.56% 0.89 Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas 0.00% 2.04% 0.00 Better-Off Executives, Inner City Areas 0.01% 3.94% 0.13 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 13.48% 13.04% 103.37 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 14.20% 12.70% 111.77 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 6.78% 8.14% 83.25 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 0.87% 4.02% 21.59 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 7.86% 3.19% 246.70 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 24.84% 11.31% 219.61 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 4.86% 3.06% 158.70 Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship 9.34% 2.52% 370.95 People in Multi-Ethnic, Low-Income Areas 0.55% 2.10% 26.37 Unclassified Unclassified 0.04% 0.06% 59.21

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   £0-5K 14.70% 9.41% 156.11 £5-10K 22.28% 16.63% 133.97 £10-15K 18.85% 16.58% 113.72 £15-20K 13.41% 13.58% 98.71 £20-25K 9.12% 10.39% 87.75 £25-30K 6.18% 7.77% 79.51 £30-35K 4.23% 5.79% 73.10 £35-40K 2.94% 4.33% 67.95 £40-45K 2.08% 3.27% 63.68 £45-50K 1.49% 2.48% 60.06 £50-55K 1.08% 1.90% 56.94 £55-60K 0.80% 1.47% 54.21 £60-65K 0.60% 1.15% 51.79 £65-70K 0.45% 0.91% 49.62 £70-75K 0.34% 0.72% 47.66 £75-80K 0.26% 0.57% 45.87 £80-85K 0.20% 0.46% 44.25 £85-90K 0.16% 0.37% 42.75 £90-95K 0.13% 0.31% 41.37 £95-100K 0.10% 0.25% 40.09 £100K + 0.45% 1.34% 33.78