The Lib Dem triumph in Sutton in 1997 reflected a long history of activism, from the victory of Graham (now Lord) Tope in a 1972 by-election to taking control of the council in 1986. Much of the constituency is composed of 1930s vintage outer London suburbs, with some nuances of demographic difference between its wards. Cheam, with its scattered Tudor buildings, is posher than Sutton's 1960s town centre despite its association with Tony Hancock's mnage. Nearly all the wards are Liberal Democrat in local elections, except the southern, most affluent, part of Cheam. The central Sutton town wards return massive Lib Dem leads.

There are no reservoirs of Labour support (it has three of the five weakest Labour wards in London) but the party managed an almost respectable 15.5% in 1997 spread thinly across the area. The Lib Dems enjoyed a massive 23.1% lead in 1998, were 20 points adrift in Euro 99 and probably back in the lead in the 2000 GLA elections. Paul Burstow for the Lib Dems and Olga Maitland for the Tories face off for the third time in a row. They have very contrasting political styles - Burstow is a grassroots politician with long council experience and a near obsessive concern for local issues. Olga Maitland is an ex-gossip columnist and a flamboyant campaigner for assorted right wing causes who was rebuked by the Speaker in 1994 and affected grand indifference to her eviction in 1997. It should be another divisive election in Sutton.

Parliamentary Statistics pre-Election 2001

Liberal Democrat majority 2,097 (4.5%)  Conservative target 29
MP Paul Burstow
1997 (Turnout 75.1%)
Liberal Democrat	19,919	42.3%
Conservative	17,822	37.8%
Labour	7,280	15.5%
Referendum	1,784	3.8%
Others	287	0.6%

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For Sutton & Cheam 2001 Election result - click here.