Stoke-on-Trent North
Labour hold

The Potteries is fairly unrelievedly working class and Labour in nature. There are few regular Conservative wards here, and no sniff of a Tory parliamentary victory, although they did make some council gains in 2000, when Labour was also plagued by Independent and some Liberal Democrat successes for local reasons, but all three Stoke seats rank in the 14 most working class in the whole of Britain - North in first place. The reason for this probably lies not only in the economic base of skilled manual industries, but also in Stoke on Trent's well known configuration as a federation of small towns (written up by Arnold Bennett) such as, here, Burslem and Tunstall and the peripheral council estate of Chell. These are not big enough to build up substantial middle class areas, which are in any case more likely to be found in Newcastle under Lyme, and further afield still. It all adds up to a trio of safe Labour seats.

Joan Walley came in here in 1987 as a leftwing replacement for a deselected rightwing Labour MP, and briefly joined the Campaign Group, until opposing Benn and Heffer's challenge to Kinnock and Hattersely in 1988. A Gould voter in 1992 and a Prescott voter in 1994, she was dropped from the front bench by Blair in 1995 after seven years covering Environment and Transport. Pleasant if pedestrian, she was born 1949 and educated at Biddulph Grammar School and Hull University, spent four years as an eventually surcharged Lambeth councillor, worked variously in local government or for NACRO, and is now preoccupied with green causes, notably GM food. In 2000 she rebelled on linking pensions to average earnings.

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 6.76% 14.99% 45.07 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 0.00% 2.13% 0.00 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 0.12% 2.49% 4.88 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 0.85% 4.43% 19.24 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 6.07% 7.27% 83.50 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 0.09% 3.94% 2.33 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 3.09% 13.04% 23.73 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 44.98% 12.70% 354.13 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 19.03% 8.14% 233.65 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 0.00% 4.02% 0.00 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 1.61% 3.19% 50.65 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 15.08% 11.31% 133.28 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 0.03% 3.06% 0.97 Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship 2.28% 2.52% 90.62 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 13.39% 9.41% 142.22 £5-10K 22.96% 16.63% 138.03 £10-15K 20.28% 16.58% 122.31 £15-20K 14.39% 13.58% 105.91 £20-25K 9.51% 10.39% 91.53 £25-30K 6.19% 7.77% 79.60 £30-35K 4.05% 5.79% 69.87 £35-40K 2.68% 4.33% 61.91 £40-45K 1.81% 3.27% 55.35 £45-50K 1.24% 2.48% 49.88 £50-55K 0.86% 1.90% 45.28 £55-60K 0.61% 1.47% 41.35 £60-65K 0.44% 1.15% 37.96 £65-70K 0.32% 0.91% 35.00 £70-75K 0.23% 0.72% 32.41 £75-80K 0.17% 0.57% 30.12 £80-85K 0.13% 0.46% 28.07 £85-90K 0.10% 0.37% 26.24 £90-95K 0.08% 0.31% 24.60 £95-100K 0.06% 0.25% 23.11 £100K + 0.22% 1.34% 16.64