Twickenham
Liberal Democrat hold

The safest of the five Liberal Democrat seats in outer South West London; everything seems in this Thames-side constituency to be flowing towards their retention of Twickenham in 2001. Vincent Cable has established himself as a mature, active and knowledgeable MP. The Conservative candidate here, as in neighbouring Richmond Park, is a young councillor from neighbouring low-tax Wandsworth, a rare Tory flagship in local government - but here the Liberal Democrats have been in control of the council since 1986, by very large margins too. The Liberal Democrats machine here is extremely well organised, a humming machine of efficiency; the Conservatives struggle for activists, particularly of the rising generation; the considerable number of Labour sympathisers are aware of and well practised in tactical voting. An increased majority is likely - with, to use a nautical analogy here by the river, the Conservatives a cable's length or two behind.

Dr Vincent Cable, victor here in 1997, reached the Liberal Democrats via the Labour Party and the SDP, having earlier fought elections under both labels, and worked for John Smith when he was Labour's Trade Secretary in the 1970s. Born in 1943, he attended Nunthorpe Grammar School, York, Fitzwilliam College Cambridge, and Glasgow University where he obtained an economics doctorate, and worked eventually in the oil industry, latterly as chief economist with Shell. A campaigner against ageism in the NHS, and his party's trade and industry spokesman, his effortless fluency is salted with a hint of abrasiveness, and his rational acceptance of Lib-Lab tactical voting with hints of reservations about the impact on business of a minimum wage increase. Nor is he averse to highlighting worry about the migration of pupils from poorer boroughs into schools in his own affluent borough of Richmond-on-Thames. The Conservatives, as part of their drive to sweep the Liberal Democrats back out of the south-west London suburbs, have chosen Nick Longworth, another Wandsworth councillor. Born in 1959, educated at Rendcomb College and Hertford College, Oxford, the former BBC journalist lists beer among his interests.

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 12.40% 14.99% 82.68 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 0.00% 2.13% 0.00 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 1.98% 2.49% 79.78 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 0.68% 4.43% 15.29 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 0.52% 7.27% 7.09 Rising Affluent Urbanites, Town & City Areas 17.44% 2.56% 680.00 Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas 30.38% 2.04% 1,488.32 Better-Off Executives, Inner City Areas 3.90% 3.94% 98.96 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 12.10% 13.04% 92.76 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 9.84% 12.70% 77.44 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 1.64% 8.14% 20.10 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 2.84% 4.02% 70.59 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 0.98% 3.19% 30.85 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 3.42% 11.31% 30.26 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 1.89% 3.06% 61.82 Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship 0.00% 2.52% 0.07 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 3.72% 9.41% 39.54 £5-10K 8.15% 16.63% 49.03 £10-15K 10.47% 16.58% 63.16 £15-20K 10.79% 13.58% 79.45 £20-25K 10.05% 10.39% 96.73 £25-30K 8.89% 7.77% 114.31 £30-35K 7.63% 5.79% 131.75 £35-40K 6.45% 4.33% 148.80 £40-45K 5.40% 3.27% 165.30 £45-50K 4.50% 2.48% 181.16 £50-55K 3.74% 1.90% 196.36 £55-60K 3.11% 1.47% 210.88 £60-65K 2.59% 1.15% 224.74 £65-70K 2.16% 0.91% 237.97 £70-75K 1.80% 0.72% 250.59 £75-80K 1.51% 0.57% 262.64 £80-85K 1.27% 0.46% 274.15 £85-90K 1.07% 0.37% 285.15 £90-95K 0.90% 0.31% 295.69 £95-100K 0.76% 0.25% 305.78 £100K + 4.88% 1.34% 363.27