Uxbridge is the main centre in the outer London Borough of Hillingdon. While it is administratively part of London and is served by the tube, Uxbridge has its own telephone code and a certain sense of independence from the metropolis. As well as Uxbridge town, the seat contains the straggling suburb of Hillingdon on the A40 and stretches down the Colne valley (not to be confused with the one in Yorkshire) to the towns of Yiewsley, Cowley and West Drayton. Labour used to be strong enough in Uxbridge to hold the seat even in Tory years such as 1951 and 1955, but since then have only won it in 1966 - despite by-elections in favourable circumstances for the party in 1972 and 1997. Uxbridge is well located near Heathrow and by a tangle of motorways and has become increasingly well off.

The Conservatives did very well again in Uxbridge in the 1998 local elections, enjoying swings of around 10% since 1994 in some wards and leading 50-33%. Hillingdon council elections have seen some wild swings over the years, but this went markedly against the pattern in London. While not safe, exactly, the Conservatives can now count Uxbridge as a pretty reliable prospect.

Parliamentary Statistics pre-Election 2001

Conservative majority 724 (1.7%) in May 1997  Conservative majority 3,766 (11.8%) in July 1997  Labour target 8
MP John Randall (previously Sir Michael Shersby)
1997 Gen Elec (Turnout 72.3%)
Conservative	18,095	43.6%
Labour	17,371	41.8%
Liberal Democrat	4,528	10.9%
Referendum	1,153	2.8%
Other	398

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For Uxbridge 2001 Election result - click here.