As the general election approaches, Cambridgeshire may be the most important political battleground in the East of England. In the south of the county, constituency boundaries are being redrawn. The three new constituencies – St Neots and Mid-Cambridgeshire, Ely and East Cambridgeshire, and South Cambridgeshire – all look marginal. So, in 18 months, Labour or the Liberal Democrats could replace three Conservative MPs. But they could split the vote and leave those Conservatives in place. So, at East Anglia Bylines we are focusing on Cambridgeshire politics and are looking for help.
What are the issues in Cambridgeshire?
Some of the broad outlines of the County are easy to track. From surveys and national data, we know the nature of the population in these areas – peoples’ incomes, occupations and education, and their past voting behaviour and attitudes on social and economic issues.
But from outside the area, it is much more difficult to track what issues are causing anger or enthusiasm locally, who the candidates are and what people think of them.
Could you help?
As an independent citizen journalism site, we are all volunteers, but at present we have more active members in the east of the region. So we are keen to find people in Cambridgeshire who might like to contribute to our coverage of the county.
This could simply be by letting us know about local issues which we can incorporate into our news stories.
Alternatively, you may have something you would really like to write about. You don’t need to be a professional writer, just to have something interesting to say. Our editorial team can help you shape ideas into an engaging story.
This short survey is designed to inform us about local issues we ought to cover, and to find people who might like to help. It will only take a few minutes, and will help us serve the people of Cambridgeshire better.
