[Torie]

while it was the Londons ... that went labor.

Not exactly:

The silk stocking districts of London still vote Tory in fairly hefty numbers. And lots of those "rural" districts are really suburban or exurban districts of cities, and high income. There are really not that many truly rural and small town constituencies in England. Still it is true that New Labor has cut into the urban upper middle and middle class vote. That is because they no longer represent much of a real threat to their standard of living.

Maybe Madivan can add his own more knowledgeable perspective on this.

[MadIvan]

The data actually suggests that London was the happiest hunting ground for the Tories in this election: they picked off Putney, Wimbledon, Enfield Southgate, Hammersmith & Fulham and nearly took Battersea. Battersea is particularly shocking as it's usually fairly strong for Labour.

Outlying suburbs such as Ilford North, Welwyn Hatfield and Hemel Hempstead also went Tory in a big way.

Where Labour did well was its traditional heartlands, in the industrial north, where the Tories usually don't make a showing - however, the Lib Dems managed to pick off seats in Manchester and Leeds.

Overall, it was a bad night for Labour all around - just not catastrophic. This is the beginning of the end for the Labour Government.

Best Regards, Ivan

[Clemenza]

1. I've always found it odd that Chelsea was (supposedly) a Torie area, as most of us in the states who know it at all know it for its role in the 1970s punk and fashion scene.

2. Does anyone know if there is a section in the greater London conuberation that has a large number of police officers? Is there a London equivalent of Staten Island, which votes to the Right poltically due to the large number of cops?