Fulham: Encyclopedia II - Fulham - Politics

Fulham - Politics

Fulham has in the past been a politically significant part of the country, having been the scene of two major parliamentary by-elections in the 20th Century. In 1933, the Fulham East by-election became known as the "peace by-election" taking place shortly prior to the outbreak of World War 2.

In 1986, Fulham experienced another by-election following the death of Conservative MP Martin Stevens. Labour's Nick Raynsford gained the constituency on a 10% swing - one of the first elections that heralded the slick, modern campaigning New Labour techniques that would become renowned. Posters announcing that "Nick Raynsford lives here" adorned thousands of windows in the constituency - a reference to the fact that Labour's candidate was a long-time local, while the Tory was an "outsider" from Notting Hill.

Fulham has, however, been trending towards the Conservatives since the 1960s as the area underwent huge demographic change: the tightly-packed terraces which had housed working-class families employed in the heavy industry that dominated Fulham's riverside being rapidly replaced with young professionals who had a very different less egalitarian political outlook. In 1971, Fulham elected 28 Labour and 2 Conservative councillors; in 2002 the figures were 16 Conservative and 10 Labour.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Politics", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki