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England's tightest seat may not be so close this time

March 5, 2015 12:35
Lib Dem hopeful Maajid Nawaz

ByMarcus Dysch, Marcus Dysch

4 min read

Forty-two votes. Glenda Jackson's winning margin in Hampstead and Kilburn five years ago could hardly have been tighter.

It was England's closest constituency result at the last general election. The third-placed Liberal Democrats were only 841 votes behind, making the seat a genuine three-way marginal.

Ms Jackson is retiring after 23 years in Parliament, and the mainstream parties began their campaigns to replace her two years ago. Conservative Simon Marcus was selected in February 2013, with Labour's Tulip Siddiq chosen six months later. The Liberal Democrats subsequently unveiled anti-extremism campaigner Maajid Nawaz as their candidate.

The constituency covers areas of high Jewish population such as Belsize Park and West Hampstead and includes the JW3 community centre within its borders. Of 78,500 voters, 6.5 per cent are Jewish.