Bracknell
Conservative hold

Rapid population growth in east Berkshire has led to several rounds of boundary changes, and as time went by it became more and more likely that the New Town of Bracknell would end up with a seat if not yet of its own, then at least named after it and with relatively few other communities. Bracknell may well be the most prosperous and affluent of all the fomally designated New Towns, with its battery of hi-tech industries and corporate headquarters, with good road and rail links; indeed it has been said to form the heart of a "silicon valley" or "M4 corridor". Cliches aside, there may even be a Labour shortage here, and property values are certainly rocketing. Bracknell itself has shown a capacity to swing dramatically, and is clearly open-minded to parties which bring home the bacon economically, especially in the private sector, through the market which has been such a kindly mechanism here, rather than government intervention. The extraneous wards such as Sandhurst and Crowthorne do not hurt the Conservatives, leaving Labour to struggle as usual.

Andrew MacKay, Conservative Northern Ireland spokesman and former Deputy Chief Whip, born 1949 and educated at Solihull School, as an estate agent personifies his party's retreat from the ownership of vast tracts of land to the marketing of small parcels of it. He snatched Roy Jenkins' former Birmingham Stetchford seat for two years in the 'seventies before resurfacing here in 1983. Rightwing on law and order and immigration, he is libertarian on abortion and on homosexuality at 16. Dalek-voiced, slant-eyed, permanently-tanned and expensively-tailored, he is second-married to vivacious former Press Gallery-starlet-turned-MP Julie Kirkbride, with whom he fathered his third child in 2000.

Bracknell Conservative Party

Bracknell Labour Party

Bracknell Forest Council

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 27.27% 14.99% 181.91 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 0.00% 2.13% 0.00 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 0.99% 2.49% 39.98 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 16.43% 4.43% 371.27 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 6.80% 7.27% 93.52 Rising Affluent Urbanites, Town & City Areas 1.11% 2.56% 43.15 Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas 0.09% 2.04% 4.52 Better-Off Executives, Inner City Areas 2.37% 3.94% 60.02 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 3.60% 13.04% 27.65 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 11.17% 12.70% 87.95 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 6.17% 8.14% 75.80 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 0.38% 4.02% 9.49 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 2.71% 3.19% 85.00 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 20.03% 11.31% 177.10 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 0.19% 3.06% 6.05 Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship 0.04% 2.52% 1.53 People in Multi-Ethnic, Low-Income Areas 0.00% 2.10% 0.00 Unclassified Unclassified 0.64% 0.06% 1,029.95

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   £0-5K 3.69% 9.41% 39.20 £5-10K 8.62% 16.63% 51.82 £10-15K 11.21% 16.58% 67.63 £15-20K 11.46% 13.58% 84.39 £20-25K 10.52% 10.39% 101.21 £25-30K 9.15% 7.77% 117.65 £30-35K 7.73% 5.79% 133.43 £35-40K 6.43% 4.33% 148.38 £40-45K 5.30% 3.27% 162.41 £45-50K 4.36% 2.48% 175.49 £50-55K 3.57% 1.90% 187.60 £55-60K 2.93% 1.47% 198.78 £60-65K 2.41% 1.15% 209.05 £65-70K 1.98% 0.91% 218.48 £70-75K 1.63% 0.72% 227.11 £75-80K 1.35% 0.57% 235.00 £80-85K 1.12% 0.46% 242.21 £85-90K 0.93% 0.37% 248.78 £90-95K 0.78% 0.31% 254.78 £95-100K 0.65% 0.25% 260.24 £100K + 3.80% 1.34% 282.37