| Cleethorpes constituency, which skirts around Great Grimsby (whose MP is Austin Mitchell, Labour). |
| Shona McIsaac, Labour MP, elected for the first time in 1997, replacing Michael Brown, Conservative (now a columnist for The Independent newspaper), and in 2001 and then in 2005. |
| From 1997 this Labour MP has been a loyal backbencher of the government, voting with it on the most controversial of bills, and developed a speciality on anti-social behaviour and its legislation. She works hard on constituency business and making representations; she has been one of the quite MPs in terms of House of Commons performance and does not come across well on television. |
| General Election Result 2005 | |||
| McIsaac | Labour | 18,889 | -6.3% |
| Vickers | Conservative | 16,247 | +1.0% |
| Lowis | Liberal Democrat | 6,437 | +2.8% |
| Hardie | UKIP | 2,016 | +2.5% |
| Turnout | 61.6% | Labour majority | 6.1% |
| In 2005 a large Liberal Democrat swing would have seen this seat transfer from Labour to Conservative, all else being equal, but this is not a developed Liberal Democrat seat. The rise in its vote has put the Conservatives a closer second. I took the view, voting for my first choice this time, that this was a possible Conservative gain, but that even with little or no rise in their vote the Conservatives were bound to gain nationally. I voted Labour in 1997 and 2001, but could not any longer and wanted to vote for my first choice. | |||
Adrian Worsfold
| The meaning of Liberal here is an overall philosophy of individualism and social conscience with educational enquiry. It ties in with liberal approaches to politics and religion, and is why I have been an economic liberal in my later teens and early twenties and became a social liberal soon after. I have not joined any political party. |