Salisbury
Conservative hold

If there had been the degree of tactical voting in Salisbury in 1997 found in many other Conservative - Lib Dem marginals, Robert Key would at best have been in serious trouble. However, the Labour vote actually increased by eight and a half per cent, almost doubling to over 10,000, while the Liberal Democrat share fell by 5pc, letting the Conservative through with under 43pc of the total. This may represent Key's lowest ebb, for besides any national recovery on the Tories' part, it should be noted that over 3,000 votes, a deposit saving level, were recorded here in 1997 by the UK Independence Party, whose candidate was Nigel Farage, now the party leader and a Member of the European Parliament. Unlike the late Sir James Goldsmith's Referendum party, the UKIP still exists, but it too has suffered from internal disputes and the European issue may not play quite as strongly in 2001, even if the pro-EU Key is targeted again.

Robert Key, a Defence spokesman, is a churchy man for a churchy seat. Son of a former Bishop of Truro, he was born in 1945, educated at Sherborne and Clare College, Cambridge and taught economics at Harrow before becoming MP here in 1983. More genial than his similarly fat and double-chinned constituent, Sir Edward Heath (for whom he was briefly PPS), he has trimmed from One Nation Europhilia to a degree of scepticism as reflected in his backing for Lilley for leader in 1997. John Major had dropped him as a junior transport minister in 1994. A voter for lowering the homosexual age of consent to 16, he is less politically correct on the matter of women in the armed forces.

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 27.20% 14.99% 181.40 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 4.17% 2.13% 195.94 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 1.53% 2.49% 61.69 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 9.36% 4.43% 211.61 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 5.60% 7.27% 76.96 Rising Affluent Urbanites, Town & City Areas 0.33% 2.56% 12.89 Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas 0.01% 2.04% 0.36 Better-Off Executives, Inner City Areas 1.06% 3.94% 26.82 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 22.07% 13.04% 169.28 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 5.19% 12.70% 40.87 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 9.94% 8.14% 122.11 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 6.68% 4.02% 166.11 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 1.89% 3.19% 59.47 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 4.70% 11.31% 41.55 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 0.26% 3.06% 8.59 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 0.00% 0.06% 0.00

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   £0-5K 7.16% 9.41% 76.09 £5-10K 14.66% 16.63% 88.17 £10-15K 16.47% 16.58% 99.37 £15-20K 14.54% 13.58% 107.03 £20-25K 11.54% 10.39% 110.99 £25-30K 8.73% 7.77% 112.23 £30-35K 6.47% 5.79% 111.76 £35-40K 4.78% 4.33% 110.29 £40-45K 3.54% 3.27% 108.28 £45-50K 2.63% 2.48% 106.02 £50-55K 1.97% 1.90% 103.66 £55-60K 1.49% 1.47% 101.28 £60-65K 1.14% 1.15% 98.95 £65-70K 0.88% 0.91% 96.69 £70-75K 0.68% 0.72% 94.51 £75-80K 0.53% 0.57% 92.41 £80-85K 0.42% 0.46% 90.40 £85-90K 0.33% 0.37% 88.48 £90-95K 0.26% 0.31% 86.65 £95-100K 0.21% 0.25% 84.90 £100K + 1.01% 1.34% 75.24