Slough
Labour hold

Slough looks the part of a Labour stronghold, with its famed industrial buildings along the Great West Road which prompted the architecture loving traditionalist John Betjeman to call for "come friendly bombs . . . " , and also it large Asian community in the centre of town; but this is the south east, and Slough has often been included in a Conservative seat, bizarrely coupled with the elite name of Eton until 1983, and it was after a long hiatus that Fiona MacTaggart won the seat convincingly in 1997; it is reckoned it would have been a photo-finish if the current boundaries had existed in 1992. It seems safe for Labour now though; they were still 20pc ahead of the Tories in the all-out unitary authority in the May 1999 midterm.

Fiona MacTaggart, PPS to Culture Secretary Chris Smith, was elected in 1997 after selection from an all-women shortlist. The granddaughter of a Conservative MP, born 1953 and educated at Cheltenham Ladies College and King's College London, she has worked as a primary school teacher and lecturer in education, though is rich enough not to need to. Big, strapping and extrovert and with a background as a councillor in the highly polarised Wandsworth Council, she campaigns on local health and immigration issues, and is mildly Eurosceptic.

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 5.40% 14.99% 36.00 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 0.40% 2.13% 18.59 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 0.44% 2.49% 17.80 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 2.62% 4.43% 59.28 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 6.46% 7.27% 88.82 Rising Affluent Urbanites, Town & City Areas 11.29% 2.56% 440.05 Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas 0.00% 2.04% 0.00 Better-Off Executives, Inner City Areas 2.02% 3.94% 51.11 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 6.16% 13.04% 47.22 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 12.11% 12.70% 95.34 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 6.43% 8.14% 78.96 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 7.44% 4.02% 185.03 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 5.66% 3.19% 177.62 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 14.48% 11.31% 127.99 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 1.27% 3.06% 41.62 Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship 1.65% 2.52% 65.51 People in Multi-Ethnic, Low-Income Areas 16.18% 2.10% 770.58 Unclassified Unclassified 0.00% 0.06% 0.00

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   £0-5K 5.44% 9.41% 57.82 £5-10K 12.20% 16.63% 73.32 £10-15K 14.77% 16.58% 89.08 £15-20K 13.95% 13.58% 102.67 £20-25K 11.77% 10.39% 113.27 £25-30K 9.40% 7.77% 120.97 £30-35K 7.31% 5.79% 126.20 £35-40K 5.61% 4.33% 129.46 £40-45K 4.28% 3.27% 131.21 £45-50K 3.27% 2.48% 131.83 £50-55K 2.51% 1.90% 131.65 £55-60K 1.93% 1.47% 130.87 £60-65K 1.49% 1.15% 129.69 £65-70K 1.16% 0.91% 128.22 £70-75K 0.91% 0.72% 126.57 £75-80K 0.72% 0.57% 124.80 £80-85K 0.57% 0.46% 122.97 £85-90K 0.45% 0.37% 121.10 £90-95K 0.36% 0.31% 119.24 £95-100K 0.29% 0.25% 117.38 £100K + 1.43% 1.34% 106.07