While Sutton and Cheam is uniformly middle class, the other half of the London Borough of Sutton is more varied. In the north it contains the borough's part of the large St. Helier estate, which elects Labour councillors, and industrial areas around Beddington and the Wandle valley. Carshalton and Wallington are middle class suburbs between Sutton and Croydon. To the south are the wealthy Carshalton Beeches and Woodcote areas, and an isolated and unpleasant council estate at Roundshaw on the site of the old Croydon airport.

Demographically, it could be a Tory-Labour marginal, but local politics has produced Liberal Democrat ascendancy in all parts of the constituency - even inroads into St. Helier. This was translated from local to national politics in 1997 with the victory of Tom Brake. Unlike in Richmond, the 1998 local elections were better for the Lib Dems than 1997 (they led by 22.7%). The Tories led 37-23% in 1999 but were probably behind again in the 2000 GLA election. Labour won 23.9% of the vote in 1997, rather high for a Con-Lib Dem marginal, and Liberal Democrat strategy must be to squeeze this in the next general election. Brake has not let up campaigning since being elected and is a very attentive constituency MP who stands a reasonable chance of capitalising on his advantages and retaining the seat.

Parliamentary Statistics pre-Election 2001

Lib Dem majority 2,267 (4.7%)  Conservative target 31
MP Tom Brake
1997 (Turnout 73.3%)
Liberal Democrat	18,490	38.2%
Conservative	16,223	33.5%
Labour	11,565	23.9%
Referendum	1,289	2.7%
Green	377	0.8%
Others	479	1.0%

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For Carshalton & Wallington 2001 Election result - click here.