(C) OpenDemocracy
This story was originally published by OpenDemocracy and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Soaring renter population in Tory seats could help shape election result [1]
[]
Date: 2023-11
Renters will have more of a say in key Tory seats at the next general election, according to new research that shows the number of private tenants booming across suburban areas and satellite towns.
Exclusive analysis shared with openDemocracy shows there are likely 77 Tory constituencies where private renters now make up a fifth of the population, up from 25 in 2011. The calculation is complicated by changing electoral boundaries in some seats – but researchers used ward-level data to estimate how the new seats would have voted had they existed in 2019.
In 2011, 22% of Tory constituencies in England had a fifth or more renters, according to Census data. This had risen to 40% in the 2021 survey.
While private renters have traditionally been concentrated in urban areas, spiralling rent costs and lockdown have pushed tenants further out of cities.
Help us uncover the truth about Covid-19 The Covid-19 public inquiry is a historic chance to find out what really happened. Make a donation
The Tory seat with the biggest increase in private renting was Hendon in outer London, up from 26% in 2011 to 36% in 2021. Another outer London seat, Uxbridge and South Ruislip, a key Tory marginal previously held by Boris Johnson, has seen the percentage of renters increase from 18% to 24% over the decade. The Tories held Uxbridge and South Ruislip in this year’s by-election by just 495 votes.
Overall, analysis from tenants group Generation Rent found that 194 constituencies in England have populations with 20% or more private renters, up from 114 in 2011.
The total number of private renters across England and Wales has grown from 3.8 million in 2010/11 to 4.6 million in 2021/22, according to the England Housing Survey. As this happens, the power of renters in elections is growing, particularly in seats that have not historically represented the concerns of tenants.
However, Generation Rent also found private renters are more than twice as likely not to be registered as the population as a whole. In the 2019 election, 1.22 million people were not registered to vote anywhere, with 45% of these being private renters.
Dan Wilson Craw, deputy chief executive of Generation Rent, said it was getting harder for politicians to ignore renters.
“The renter population continued to grow in the 2010s, but because many of us have been pushed out of city constituencies by high rents and the need for family homes, renters’ political power has grown even more, and could make a difference in many more seats at future elections.”
“But this new political influence is limited if we aren’t registered to vote in the first place, and it is too easy to fall off the register after a stressful house move. We have mapped the private rented sector to inform our campaign to make sure renters have a political voice, and we hope this work will help others who are working to widen democratic participation.”
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/renting-england-conservative-constituencies-votes-tory/
Published and (C) by OpenDemocracy
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/opendemocracy/
