Day 207: Bruce George

[Silent Hunter]

Lab, Walsall South.

[merseysider]

I think you've got mixed up - Bruce George is the Labour MP for Walsall South (it's Andrew George who's the LibDem)

He's a classic Labour right-winger who's been around since the 1970s. He's something of an authority on military matters and was a staunch advocate of NATO even back in the 1980s when the Labour party went loony-left and was advocating unilateral nuclear disarmament.

When I was at university there was someone in our Labour club from his constituency who rated him very highly.

I would imagine he must have some personal vote - this was a Labour gain by just 1500 votes in 1974, but he was able to hold on in 1979 when Thatcher came to power, and in the electoral armageddon of 1983.

[minionofmidas]

I wouldn't draw conclusions from a comparison of pre- and post-83 in a suburban seat. The chance that the two versions of it have much to do with each other is quite slight.

[Silent Hunter]

Duly edited.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I wouldn't draw conclusions from a comparison of pre- and post-83 in a suburban seat. The chance that the two versions of it have much to do with each other is quite slight.

Walsall South wasn't changed that much in the '83 review; the big change there came in 1974 when a load of affluent commuterland was taken from the seat and replaced with Darlaston.

The core of the seat isn't suburban, btw. East of the seat is though.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

As for George himself; not much to add to what's been said before, but I might as well add that he's Welsh. Given it's reputation for being, how shall we say, a little insular, the Black Country has had a surprising number of M.P's from outside the area/don't exactly fit in with other stereotypes about it; the incumbent Tory George beat in '74, Henry d'Avigdor-Goldsmid, was Jewish. Winnick and Spellar are both Londoners, I'm pretty sure that Peter Snape was from Stockport, Betty Boothroyd is from Yorkshire (surname a dead give-away there o/c), Andrew Faulds was an actor (!) and born in Tanzania, while Ross Cranston is an Australian.