Battleground Anglia: North East Hertfordshire

The Conservatives won the North East Hertfordshire constituency at the 2010 General Election with a majority of more than 15,000 votes. Credit: ITV News Anglia

The constituency cuts across North Hertfordshire and East Hertfordshire District Councils. It contains Letchworth, the first Garden City and, less famously, Baldock, Royston, Buntingford and Puckeridge, as well as numerous villages of varying sizes.

The constituency has a mixture of small- to medium-sized research-based technology companies, light engineering and agriculture.

Agriculture is primarily arable, although there are sheep breeders to the south of the constituency, as well as some dairy and pig farming.

There is also a sizeable contingent of commuters to London each day, as evidenced by the above average percentage of the population employed in the managerial sector and the skilled non-manual sector.

  • Conservative majority in 2010: 15,194

  • Labour would need a swing of 19% to win in 2015 and the Lib Dems would need a 15% swing

The seat has been held by the Conservatives since its creation in 1974. The current incumbent, Sir Oliver Heald, has been the local MP since 1992.

Candidates in 2015

  • William Compton - UKIP

  • Sir Oliver Heald - Conservative

  • Joe Jordan - Liberal Democrat

  • Mario May - Green

  • Chris York - Labour