Constituency Profile
The area is not as rural as the adjoining New Forest constituencies, nor as urban as Bournemouth and Poole, and contains a mixed bag of coastal retirement havens, outlying Bournemouth suburbs and the town of Christchurch itself which has expanded to include dedicated villages of sheltered housing on its outskirts.
Consequently, the present Christchurch seat contains one of the most elderly electorates in the country - only Eastbourne and Devon East have an older average voter age, and Christchurch has the highest proportion of over-60s of any seat. Having recovered from an early-1990s by-election loss, it is a safe Conservative seat, with MP Christopher Chope attaining a majority of over 30% at the last general election. It is the safest Tory seat in the West Country, although it is on the very fringe of the area that usually qualifies as the South West region.
Bournemouth airport is located within the seat.
Read more about this topic: Christchurch (UK Parliament Constituency)
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