How is the General Election shaping up in Southampton?

I have been saying for some time that the General Election could not come soon enough. After four and a half long years of the most wretched government I can remember we finally have the chance to vote them out. Southampton will be an interesting battleground.

Let’s start with Romsey and Southampton North, where Lib Dem Geoff Cooper is mounting a very strong challenge to the Conservative MP Caroline Nokes. The polls indicate it will be close, and the Southampton wards of Bassett and Swaythling could be crucial to the outcome.

In Southampton Test, our newly elected Swaythling Councillor Thomas Gravatt will be taking on Labour’s former Council leader Satvir Kaur. Satvir is seeking to take over from retiring MP Alan Whitehead. In a seat that the Tories were targeting as recently as 2017 it’s indicative of their parlous state that they have - at the time of writing - yet to even announce a candidate.

Over in Southampton Itchen, Conservative MP Royston Smith is standing down. A councillor from the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Sidney Yankson, is seeking to hold the seat for the Tories. Former City Councillor Darren Paffey is hoping to take the seat for Labour. The results of the recent local elections indicate that the result could perhaps be closer than national polls imply. Winchester City Councillor James Batho will be flying the flag for the Lib Dems.