South West Wiltshire Constituency - where is it?

8.54.00am GMT Mon 18th Jan 2010

In the last general election there were four constituencies in Wiltshire (excluding Swindon). In the May election there will be five. This has of course required the redrawing of the parliamentary boundaries.

South West Wiltshire includes Trowbridge, Westbury, Warminster and Mere. Here's a quick whizz round it - all the places mentioned lie within the constituency.

From Wingfield down to Tollard Royal the western edge is the county boundary. The eastern side includes Berwick St John, Fovant and Barford St Martin, crossing the A36 at Codford. It then goes across the plain to Coulston before turning back westwards past Great Hinton and following the northern boundary of Trowbridge to rejoin the county boundary at Wingfield.

Politically, as with all the Wiltshire constituencies, the fight is between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. The Tories hold the four old seats but whereas previously the anti-Tory vote was split the total collapse of the Labour party's support in the county - they got just 2 (two) percent of the seats on Wiltshire Council last June - raises the possibility of Tory losses this time. Two of the sitting MPs - Robert Key in Salisbury and Michael Ancram in Devizes - are standing down following the expenses scandal.

If you'd like to join the fray and help ensure that the new Wiltshire sends a few Lib Dem representatives to Westminster please get in touch.