Although Labour won a seat called Wimbledon in 1945 it then included parts of what is now Mitcham and Morden, so in a real sense Labour's gain on a swing of over 17% in 1997 was unprecedented. Modern Wimbledon includes some affluent metropolitan areas like Wimbledon village, home of the tennis tournament, and the commuter suburb of Raynes Park. There are a few dowdier areas east of the main railway line down towards the South Wimbledon tube station.

The London borough of Merton, half of which is Wimbledon, has been one of Labour's growth areas in the 1990s. Labour won the council for the first time in 1990 and has stayed comfortably in charge since. Adding up the votes in 1998 produced a small (1.4%) Conservative lead in Wimbledon, which was extended to 6.3% in Euro 99. But coupled with Wandsworth in the 2000 GLA elections it produced the largest swing in London to the Tories. Labour's Roger Casale has been an imaginative MP who has explored new methods of constituency service but faces a tough challenge from the Conservative candidate Stephen Hammond.

Parliamentary Statistics pre-Election 2001

Labour majority 2,990 (6.2%)  Conservative target 42
MP Roger Casale
1997 (Turnout 73.3%)
Labour	20,674	42.8%
Conservative	17,684	36.6%
Liberal Democrat	8,014	16.6%
Referendum	993	2.1%
Green	474	1.0%
Others	505	1.0%

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For Wimbledon 2001 Election result - click here.