Sheffield Hallam is the wealthiest constituency in the North of England, and is made up of fairly affluent middle class suburbs: Crosspool, Dore, Fulwood and Eccleshall.
Of course it also includes campuses of both universities, and is home to a good deal of Sheffield’s student population.
The 2005 boundary changes may have altered its shape a little, adding bits of Nether Edge and Crookes, but its character remains largely the same.
Hallam had been a safe Conservative seat for 69 years until the mad rush away from the Tories in the 1997 election, when Liberal Democrat Richard Allen took control from sitting Tory Sir Irvine Patnick with an impressive 51.3 per cent of the vote. Allen stood down in 2005, and now works as a lobbyist for Facebook, where was employed to further their agenda on internet privacy.
In the 2005 election, Nick Clegg held the seat for the Liberal Democrats, trouncing the nearest competitor, Conservative candidate Spencer Pitfield, by over 8,500 votes.
Two years later Clegg beat Chris Huhne to become party leader. He was last seen raving about Sheffield’s achievements at every opportunity during his much lauded performance in ITV’s first televised leaders debate.
According to political magazine Total Politics, “With the Liberal Democrats continuing to hold every council seat in the constituency it is almost inconceivable to see Nick Clegg losing”.
His party’s recent surge in popularity has further strengthened Hallam’s safe seat status.
Sheffield Central is likely to see more of a battle. Traditionally a Labour stronghold, long standing MP and former sports minister Richard Caborn has seen the Lib Dems chipping away at his party’s majority in every election since 1997.
The constituency is made up of the city centre, and parts of Walkley, Nether Edge, and Manor Castle. The addition of Broomhill, and the extension into Walkley in this year’s boundary changes mean that students now make up 11 per cent of the electorate in Sheffield Central.
In with a chance of pinching the seat for the Lib Dems is Paul Scriven, whose two years as leader of Sheffield City Council has seen him grow in profile and popularity. While Labour candidate Paul Blomfield is no stranger to local politics, having served as chair of the Labour party in Sheffield for a decade and a half, he’s never been one to chase the limelight.
Mr Scriven lost favour from many in Nether Edge last year after the council ordered the closure of Sheffield’s smallest secondary school, Abbeydale Grange, despite a ferocious campaign by parents and teachers to save it.
The Electoral Reform Society consider Sheffield Central to be South Yorkshire’s only marginal seat, and it’s likely that both Labour and the Lib Dems will be throwing a good deal of resources and advertising at the area.
If you have a choice of where to vote, and you want your vote to really count, Sheffield Central’s the place to cast it.
Michael Smith