Stroud lies south of Gloucester, between the two larger Gloucestershire rural constituencies of Cotswold and Forest of Dean. Though partially situated in the Cotswold hills, Stroud is both smaller in area and more industrialised than the neighbouring constituency of Cotswold. It is these characteristics which perhaps explain why the Conservative hold was much more tenuous in Stroud, a seat with a history of non-conformist political activity.
Stroud is neither as affluent nor as rural as Cotswold to the east; nor is it quite as industrial and blue-collar-oriented as Forest of Dean to the west. These characteristics are consistent with the chequered political history of the constituency which has, in the long term, wavered between the two major parties.
In 1955 the Tories won the seat, and Sir Anthony Kershaw continued as MP for Stroud until his retirement in 1987. Sir Anthony held ministerial office on numerous occasions, and was widely respected as an expert on foreign affairs. He chaired the Commons Foreign Affairs select committee towards the end of his parliamentary career.
Sir Anthony was nearly defeated by the Labour candidate in the 1966 elections, but generally the seat became a Tory stronghold, with considerable majorities of 24.9 per cent in 1979 and 19.4 per cent in 1983, his last election. He was succeeded by the more right-wing Roger Knapman, who maintained very strong majorities in 1987 and even in 1992. However, he made the headlines following his defeat at the hands of Labour’s David Drew in 1997, after which he defected from the Tory Party. Claiming that the level of European integration had reached the point where UK withdrawal was the only option, Knapman joined the UK Independence Party in 2000.
It was not widely predicted that David Drew would retain his hold on the seat in the 2001 general election, given his relatively small majority: Stroud was Labour’s 20th most vulnerable seat. However, his lead over the Conservatives in fact increased to 5,039 in 2001. In 2005 his majority over the Conservatives was slashed to just 350. The Labour vote was reduced by 7 per cent but Drew was saved from defeat by the Tories only managing to increase their vote by 1.6 per cent.
In the 2004 local elections the Conservatives maintained their grip on Stroud Council, winning 27 seats. Labour won 11 seats and the Liberal Democrats six. The Conservatives also regained overall control of Gloucestershire County Council in elections held in 2005. Stroud constituency is almost congruent with the borders of Stroud Council, though two of the council's 27 wards, Kingswood and Wotton-under-Edge, fall within the Cotswold constituency. Much of the constituency is truly rural in character. It is only through the sparsely populated belt across the middle of the constituency that one will see a scattered handful of urbanised villages including Caincross, Cam and Rodborough. The major market towns include Stroud itself, Dursley in the south of the constituency, and the smaller towns of Berkeley, Stonehouse and Nailsworth.
In the past, the primary industry in the Stroud economy was the wool trade. This genre of production endures. At nearly 20 per cent, the proportion of workers employed in manufacturing is significantly higher than any of the other Gloucestershire constituencies, and greater than the regional average of 13.95 per cent, according to national census figures for 2001. There are a large number of small- to medium-size manufacturing and engineering firms, including Delphi and Renishaws, as the constituency’s location on the M5 and proximity to the M4 make it an ideal location for industrial activity of this nature.
The largest employer in the constituency is British Nuclear Fuels Limited, which operates a nuclear power plant in Berkeley employing more than 1,000 workers, although in recent years the plant has been run down. The site is likely to become an energy plant in the near future.
Dairy farming is a major occupation in the constituency. The largest employer in this industry is Dairy Crest, which operates a large dairy processing plant in Stonehouse where milk for products such as Yoplait and Frijj are prepared.
Unemployment in the constituency is 1.7 per cent, according to House of Commons figures for March 2005, despite worries over redundancies in certain parts of its manufacturing base. House prices have been lower than other parts of rural Gloucestershire, but they remain above the national average. With only 7.5 per cent of households in the constituency deemed to be in financial hardship, according to Experian's 2001 survey of the richest and poorest constituencies in the land. The BNFL nuclear plant at Berkeley was the subject of political controversy when it emerged in 2001 that the government was contemplating the construction of a new MOX-fuelled reactor at several plants, including Berkeley. Because the MOX fuel would be produced at the notorious Sellafield reprocessing plant, national attention was focused on the construction of new reactors designed to consume it, and strong opposition among environmental activists was counterbalanced with support from many local residents who saw economic advantage in the expansion of the plant.
Closely related to environmental issues is the question of development. David Drew has been a vocal opponent of development on greenfield sites in the constituency, advocating instead an approach centred on the regeneration of existing towns and villages along a more sustainable pattern of development. Residents acknowledge the need for more housing, given the chronic shortage across the region, but feel that a laissez-faire approach will have irreversible consequences. There has also been frustration over the limited power of local authorities to restrain unwelcome development.
Despite a strong protest movement opposing the move, Standish Hospital was finally closed in December 2004 with all healthcare services being transferred to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. Stroud Council has established planning guidelines that will only allow the historic site to be used for healthcare and social care purposes. But the Gloucestershire NHS Trust is yet to make a decision on the future of the former stately home and is currently considering two bids. One of these is from the Standish Community Initiative (SCI), which says the site should be given to the community for a nominal fee of £1. Its plan is to create a mutually-run health and social care centre. The centre would provide clinical and nursing care, a surgical unit, physiotherapy, osteopathy and a full range of complementary health services. There would be nursing and residential care for elderly and disabled people, and affordable housing for key workers. SCI believes its plan will be more valuable to the NHS and the community in the long run than the cash boost to NHS Estates from a commercial sale of the land. If the community bid fails, the site is likely to become a privately-run health facility, such as a nursing home or mental hospital.
David Drew raised the issue of rural post office closures in the House of Commons in 2005. The local MP has been campaigning alongside the community to save post offices across the constituency.