A FIVE-WAY political battle is on for England’s largest and most sparsely populated constituency that has remained a safe Conservative seat since its creation in 1950.

The Eden constituency was formed when part of Penrith and Cockermouth merged with North Cumberland. Its boundaries changed again in the 1980s when the northern part of what was the Westmorland constituency was adopted, followed later by the Kirkby Stephen and Tebay area.

Over the years it has been a Conservative safe seat, except for a 1983 by-election which saw Liberals give the party a run for its money and the Tories scraped through with a slim majority of just 1.4 per cent.

Robert Scott was the first MP, taking the new seat with a 20 per cent majority and holding it until 1955 when the future Home Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister William ‘Willie’ Whitelaw became MP with an increased majority of 35 per cent.

Whitelaw stayed strong throughout eight more General Elections - never dropping below a 22 per cent majority - until 1983 when he was elevated to the House of Lords.

Conservative David Maclean took over the constituency, beating the Liberals by only 552 votes. For the next 27 years, and through five General Elections, David Maclean led the Conservatives for Penrith and The Border - always with the Liberals coming second, and Labour third.

In 2010, Rory Stewart was selected by the Tories after failing to become the candidate for the Bracknell constituency in Berkshire. The former British Army officer and diplomat polled 24,071 votes, taking the seat with a majority of 11,241.

South Lakeland District Council leader Peter Thornton contested the seat for the Liberal Democrats, bagging 29 per cent of the vote. Labour were with only 13 per cent and Ukip and the BNP with less than three per cent each.

In such a safe seat, it would be a surprise if the Conservatives lost this year’s five-way fight. Rory Stewart is up against Liberal Democrat Neil Hughes, Labour’s Lee Rushworth and, for the second year, Ukip’s John Stanyer. Also running - for only the second time in the constituency’s history - is the Green Party. The candidates are all vying for the votes of people across Eden and as far north as the Scottish border, keen to address the key issues facing such a remote geographical area.

High on the agenda is rural public transport cuts which led to the loss of lifeline bus services, especially for school pupils and pensioners. And the future of village services, such as schools, pubs and post offices, remain of concern in such rural communities.

The plight of upland farmers and challenges facing other rural businesses - including poor access to high-speed broadband - are other key issues voters want politicians to address to ensure young families will remain to keep these remote communities surviving.

 

Meet the candidates:

Bryan Burrow, Green Party
Bryan, 61, joined the party in September 2014. He is a drama therapist and outreach youth worker who lives in Kendal with his wife. 
Father-of-five and grandfather to four, he has had a varied career and has worked with young people since 1982. Before that he worked in his family’s furniture removal business and the building industry.
 He believes not enough is being done to tackle climate change and thinks the Greens’ austerity opposition would boost Cumbria’s growth.

John Stanyer, Ukip
John, 51, lives in Wigton and runs a small farm, holiday cottages and a camping site. He is a former area manager of Cumbria’s PFK Land Agency. John is a member of the rotary club, Scouts and is a school governor. The father and grandfather has studied the impact of climate change and renewable energy and has previously been a director of other companies and local charities. He has campaigned for better broadband and against ‘unsuitable’ wind farms in north Cumbria.

Neil Hughes, Liberal Democrat
Neil came to the nation’s attention as one of the children featured in the ITV documentary Seven Up, first broadcast in 1964 and which has continued to follow their fortunes every seven years. A teacher who has worked in Europe, Neil has worked for a large housing association and for DEFRA. He has lived in Eden for 15 years. He is on Eden’s NHS commissioning body and chairs the scrutiny committee of Eden Housing Association. He has been a councillor for 16 years - first in London and then in Cumbria.

Lee​ Rushworth, Labour 
Born in Winchester, Lee grew up in the South East and moved to the North West when he married wife of 27 years Michelle. The couple have two grown-up children and they currently live in the Wirral where the Penrith and The Border hopeful chairs committees as a school governor. 
Lee has been a civil servant for more than 11 years, having previously worked and managed in the retail sector. He is an active member of his union, PCS, and has been a work place representative for many years.

Rory Stewart, Conservative
Former British Army officer and Oxford graduate Rory Stewart has been MP for Penrith and The Border since 2010. The Old Etonian has worked in the British Diplomatic Service and was a tutor to princes William and Harry. He was elected chairman of the Defence Select Committee last May. An expert on Iraq and Afghanistan, he has written extensively about his travels. Mr Stewart married his American wife Shoshana three years ago and delivered their baby Alexander Wolf himself in November.