As the results come in, look out for these five Labour/Tory battleground seats. They could be early indicators of whether we'll see Cameron or Miliband in Number 10
Nuneaton
Due to be announced: 1 am
Nuneaton is expected to be the first Tory-held marginal to be announced. The Tories won by a 2,069 majority in 2010, but Labour currently leads by a small majority in Lord Ashcroft’s polls, meaning this is the kind of seat that Labour needs to be winning if it wants to form a government. If Labour doesn’t win here, it could be an early sign that things aren’t looking good for Ed Miliband.
South Swindon
Due to be announced: 3 am
Lord Ashcroft’s polling finds this seat tied between Labour and Conservative, both on 37 per cent. In 2010 the Conservatives won by a majority of 3,544. The seat has tended to go with the winning party; the Conservatives won it in 1992, Labour in 1997, 2001 and 2005, always by fairly small majorities. If Cameron loses this seat it could speel doom for the former Etonian.
Hampstead & Kilburn
Due to be announced: 3 am
Retired MP Glenda Jackson beat the Conservatives to this seat by just 42 votes, and the Lib Dems by 399. This makes it one of the only genuine three-way marginals in the country. Prominent Lib Dem candidate Maajid Nawaz is not expected to replicate 2010’s success due to dissatisfaction with the coalition. Meanwhile Lord Ashcroft polling puts Labour on 47 per cent, the Conservatives on 30 per cent and the Lib Dems on 13 per cent. If the Conservatives confound the polls and take the seat it could spell a Labour defeat in a number of similar seats.
Ashfield
Due to be announced: 4 am
Ashfield has a history of being a very safe Labour seat, but in 2010 the Lib Dems came within a couple of hundred votes in the second largest Labour-Lib Dem swing in the country. Gloria De Piero is defending a Labour majority of just 192 in the Nottinghamshire seat. There is now a significant UKIP threat in the seat; UKIP finished eight points clear of Labour last May on 37 per cent, up from just 1.9 per cent in 2010.
Finchley & Golders Green
Due to be announced: 5 am
This is a symbolic seat that Labour will badly want to win; Margaret Thatcher held it for 33 years. The seat had been Labour for 13 years until 2010, and Lord Ashcroft currently puts Labour two points ahead of the Tories. Labour are expected to take eight seats in the capital, and if this is realised, Thatcher’s seat would be the jewel in the crown as Labour retake London.
Ruby Stockham is a staff writer at Left Foot Forward. Follow her on Twitter
29 Responses to “Five results to look out for tonight”
Jacko
I can just imagine the scene in the LFF offices:
Ruby is sitting in the corner, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. “Why, oh why, can’t people see the simple sense of centre-left politics? We only want what’s best for them. James, I don’t understand it.”
“It was the media,” sighed James. “It’s controlled by the 1% and poisoned the minds of simple working folk.”
“It’s outrageous,” said Adam. “People who don’t believe in Left wing politics are just evil and greedy.”
“Or just plain stupid,” pointed out James.
“Well, yes,” said Adam. “A lot of non-Labour voters are pretty thick.”
“But the unfairness!” Ruby exclaimed. “We’re got morality on our side. We’re the party of the ordinary working man and woman.”
“And immigrants,” said James. “Don’t forget them.”
“And the Tories are just the party of the wealthy, privileged 1%.”
“Yeah, the 1%,” said Adam. “Those horrible Tories.”
A silence fell on the room. They stared at the floor in misery. With the end of a hairpin, Ruby burst a red balloon that was meant for the celebration party.
“How come they got 37% of the vote, then?” she asked.
Robert
Makes a change from you doing it.
Leon Wolfeson
Don’t you have celebrating to do at the Torygraph? Also, thanks for linking your accounts there.
Leon Wolfeson
Your fantasies are sad.
And idiotic, given Labour broke sharply right and lost because of that. But thanks for highlighting your issues.