Skip navigation

Gloucestershire Business News

Gloucestershire set to be a key battle ground in the 2019 General Election

Gloucestershire will be a hotbed for political giants over the next six weeks as the General Election campaign gets underway.

Half of the county's six seats in the House of Commons are what would be considered key marginals for all three of the country's main parties.

After MPs decided to go to the polls on December 12 in a key series of votes last night, Parliament is set to be dissolved and campaigning is set to start on Wednesday next week.

While three of the county's six seats are pretty solid Conservative strongholds, the other three have switched between political parties over the course of the last decade.

So, the chances of Boris Johnson taking a stroll down Northgate Street in Gloucester, of Jeremy Corbyn visiting Stroud or Jo Swinson being seen on Cheltenham's Promenade are high.

The Tewkesbury, Cotswold and Forest of Dean seats are pretty solid Conservative strongholds with 2017 election majorities of 22,574, 25,499 and 9,502 respectively.

But while two of the other three constituencies returned Conservative MPs in the last election, they will be seen as key battlegrounds, as will Labour-held Stroud.

This morning, The Daily Mail put Cheltenham second in its list of key marginals with a tense battle expected between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

Conservative Alex Chalk took the seat from the Liberal Democrats in 2015 and held on in the 2017 poll, beating Martin Horwood by just 2,599 votes.

The Liberal Democrats will be seeing Cheltenham - a constituency that voted Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum as a key target.

Former Gloucestershire Echo reporter Max Wilkinson, a Cheltenham Borough Councillor is their candidate for what is set to be a fascinating battle between blue and orange.

In Gloucester, the battle is set to be between blue and red with Richard Graham defending a 5,540 majority from Labour.

Mr Graham took the seat from Labour's Parmjit Dhanda in 2010 and held with a majority of 7,251 in 2010 before seeing that cut two years later.

Gloucester voted to leave by 58.5 to 41.5 per cent, so Mr Graham will be confident that the Johnson government deal will see him hold on to his seat.

He will be facing Fran Boait as a new Labour candidate. Gloucester-born and a former Newent Community School Pupil who is an executive director of Positive Money, a non-profit finance firm.

Stroud is a blue-red battle that has changed hands in three of the last four Elections and saw David Drew win by just 687 votes in 2017.

Previous Conservative MP Neil Charmaichael is not standing against Dr Drew, with Siobhan Baillie a former councillor in the London borough of Camden standing.

The full candidate list will be published when the election process formally gets underway next week and Punchline will publish the full candidate lists.

Related Articles

Versarien's revenues halve and losses rise Image

Versarien's revenues halve and losses rise

Forest of Dean-based advanced engineering group Versarien saw its revenues halve last year.

Gloucestershire company launches same-day service Image

Gloucestershire company launches same-day service

Gloucester-based Freemans Event Partners has launched a brand-new around-the-clock foodservice logistics offer.

Gloucester business expands at Elmbridge Court Image

Gloucester business expands at Elmbridge Court

Just three offices are now available for rent at Elmbridge Court, following the latest letting.

Cirencester town centre to deliver improved parking Image

Cirencester town centre to deliver improved parking

Better parking and traffic control improvements for Cirencester residents and businesses.

Copyright 2024 Moose Partnership Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any content is strictly forbidden without prior permission.