St Ives
Liberal Democrat hold

The very western tip of England, which also includes the Scilly Isles far off the coast, this Cornish seat looks safe for the Liberal Democrats who very nearly took it on other occasions before 1997. It is true that in the Euro-elections of June 1999, not only did the Conservatives finish 10pc ahead of the Lib Dems, but the UK Independence Party obtained no less than 15pc of the total vote in the St Ives section of the South West, well above average even for their best region; yet this was of course very much a one-issue election, and the low turnout (exactly 30pc here) suggests that enthusiasts (mainly enthusiastic Euro-sceptics, if there can be such creatures) took part. The Liberal Democrats' national pro-European policies do not however seem to hurt them in the west country - or are they toned down for local consumption? - and few would place any bets on the Tories to knock over George's 7,000 margin.

Andrew George, elected in 1997, is the first Liberal MP for St Ives since Walter Runciman defected to the National Liberals in 1932. Astigmatic, locally-born (1958) at Mullion and educated at Helston Grammar School, he attended University College Oxford, and is appropriately his party's fisheries spokesman, as MP for the fading, once-great fishing port of Newlyn. Representing a relatively urban seat he can afford votes against hunting bans, but otherwise operates as a critic of the Common Fisheries Policy and - a one-time member of Mebyon Kernow - a campaigner for all things Cornish.

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 1.29% 14.99% 8.62 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 30.56% 2.13% 1,437.04 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 6.82% 2.49% 274.13 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 1.77% 4.43% 40.03 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 3.15% 7.27% 43.25 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 1.81% 3.94% 46.00 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 16.70% 13.04% 128.11 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 10.23% 12.70% 80.50 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 8.71% 8.14% 107.01 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 7.69% 4.02% 191.34 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 4.84% 3.19% 151.98 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 5.07% 11.31% 44.80 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 0.67% 3.06% 21.75 Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship 0.69% 2.52% 27.53 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 12.82% 9.41% 136.19 £5-10K 22.50% 16.63% 135.30 £10-15K 20.24% 16.58% 122.07 £15-20K 14.51% 13.58% 106.80 £20-25K 9.66% 10.39% 92.98 £25-30K 6.32% 7.77% 81.29 £30-35K 4.15% 5.79% 71.58 £35-40K 2.75% 4.33% 63.51 £40-45K 1.85% 3.27% 56.77 £45-50K 1.27% 2.48% 51.10 £50-55K 0.88% 1.90% 46.30 £55-60K 0.62% 1.47% 42.20 £60-65K 0.45% 1.15% 38.68 £65-70K 0.32% 0.91% 35.63 £70-75K 0.24% 0.72% 32.98 £75-80K 0.18% 0.57% 30.65 £80-85K 0.13% 0.46% 28.61 £85-90K 0.10% 0.37% 26.80 £90-95K 0.08% 0.31% 25.19 £95-100K 0.06% 0.25% 23.75 £100K + 0.24% 1.34% 17.80