BBC NEWS | VOTE 2001 | RESULTS & CONSTITUENCIES (original) (raw)

This constituency was a new creation for 1997, and although it encompasses three local authority areas - Arun, Mid-Sussex and Horsham, with the bulk of the constituency in the latter - the Conservatives dominate at local government level in each.

The seat is quiet, rural and extremely picturesque. Arundel itself is the only major town for miles around: the ancestral home of the Dukes of Norfolk boasting its own castle and Catholic cathedral. It is also a centre for antique-hunters, with streets full of small antique dealers and home to an annual arts festival.

Elsewhere, rolling agricultural land gives way to few towns or even large villages. Only Storrington, in the foothills of the South Downs, Pulborough, Steyning, Henfield, Hurstpierpoint and Hassocks are population centres of any note.

Health service restructuring is a major issue in the constituency - the Horsham A&E department has recently closed. The other major issue in this part of the world is house-building.

Other than that, a quaint charm exudes, and its peacefulness is hardly surprising given the age of the residents - a quarter are pensioners and 54% over 40. Most housing is owner-occupied, employment is largely in professional or managerial fields, and non-white inhabitants make up just 0.7% of the population.