Somerset Decides
BBC Radio Somerset’s comprehensive guide to the 2015 general election - all you need to know ahead of polling day.
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Supporting Content
BBC Somerset's Election Debates
In the run up to Thursday 7th May, BBC Somerset has been holding some special live debates. Ben McGrail took his programme around the county to host them and they're now all available to hear online.
Click on the links below to listen back to each of the debates.
Tues 21st April: Bridgwater & West Somerset - click here to listen
Mon 27th April: Taunton Deane - click here to listen
Wed 29th April: Wells - click here to listen
Tues 5th May: Somerton & Frome - click here to listen
Wed 6th May: Yeovil - click here to listen
The Candidates
Want to find out more about the candidates in Somerset? Here are some little guides on our constituencies as well as a list of the people who want to become your MP.
Bridgwater & West Somerset
Click here to listen to our constituency profile.
Settlements include: Bridgwater, Stogursey, Watchet (pictured), Minehead & Wheddon Cross.
History: Bridgwater was one of the original Parliamentary Constituencies in the House of Commons, having elected Members of Parliament since 1295. In 2010 the seat was re-named Bridgwater and West Somerset after boundary changes. The area is a popular retirement location - one in five residents is over 65, according to ONS 2011 Census figures for England and Wales, though it's higher in the West Somerset end of the constituency. Tourism is a major employer; the West Somerset Railway is the longest in its kind, carrying more than 200,000 passengers in 2014. Conservative Ian Liddell-Grainger succeeded Lord Tom King in 2001 after 31 years. In 2010, Ian Liddell-Grainger held the seat for the Conservatives with 45.3% of the vote; Liberal Democrats got 28.3%, Labour 17.1% and UKIP 4.8%.
2015's confirmed candidates:
Stephen Fitzgerald UKIP
Julie Harvey-Smith Green
Mick Lerry Labour
Ian Liddell-Grainger Conservative
Theo Butt Philip Liberal DemocratsClick here for details of what happened in Bridgwater & West Somerset in the 2010 general election.
North East Somerset
Click here to listen to our constituency profile.
Settlements include: Midsomer Norton, Radstock, Peasedown St John, Paulton & Chew Stoke (Chew Valley Lake pictured).
History: North East Somerset was a new seat at the last election and consists of the bulk of the old Wansdyke seat, minus the South Gloucestershire wards and gaining two wards on the outskirts of Bath. Politically, up to 1997 Wansdyke had been a solidly Tory seat but that changed when New Labour took the seat and retained it until it was abolished. The new seat was taken by the Conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg in 2010 with majority of 4,914 and 41.3 % of the vote compared to Labour who gained 31.7 %. Given its strategic location, the seat is an ideal commuter area for both Bristol and Bath, and this gives it a residential and moderately affluent character.
2015's confirmed candidates:
Ernie Blaber UKIP
Katy Boyce Green
Todd Foreman Labour
Wera Hobhouse Liberal Democrats
Jacob Rees-Mogg ConservativeClick here for details of what happened in North East Somerset in the 2010 general election.
Somerton & Frome
Click here to listen to our constituency profile.
Settlements include: Langport, Wincanton (Wincanton Racecourse pictured), Castle Cary, Somerton, Frome & Martock.
History: At nearly 900 square miles of it, Somerton &Frome is one of the biggest geographical constituencies in the country. The area has a mixed economy, including agriculture. David Heath was the Liberal Democrat MP from 1997 to this year but he's now retiring from politics which throws the constituency wider open than ever.
2015's confirmed candidates:
Ian Angell Independent
Alan Dimmick UKIP
David Oakensen Labour
David Rendel Liberal Democrats
Theo Simon Green
David Warburton ConservativeClick here for details of what happened in Somerton & Frome in the 2010 general election.
Taunton Deane
Click here to listen to our constituency profile.
Settlements include: Taunton (Somerset County Cricket Club pictured), Burrowbridge, Wellington, Bishops Lydeard, Milverton, Norton Fitzwarren & Wiveliscombe.
History: The UK's Hydrographic Office, Debenhams headquarters and Somerset Cricket Club are based here, as are 40 Commando Royal Marines, at Norton Fitzwarren. This seat had flip-flopped between the Lib Dems and Conservatives since 1997, until in 2010 Liberal Democrat Jeremy Browne won a second consecutive term, beating the Conservatives to the seat by 3,993 votes. He is standing down in 2015.
2015's confirmed candidates:
Laura Bailhache UKIP
Bruce Gauld Independent
Stephen German Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition
Rachel Gilmour Liberal Democrats
Neil Guild Labour
Clive Martin Green
Rebecca Pow Conservative
Mike Rigby IndependentClick here for details of what happened in Taunton Deane in the 2010 general election.
Wells
Click here to listen to our constituency profile.
Settlements include: Burnham-on-Sea (pictured), Highbridge, Cheddar, Shepton Mallet, Street and Wells.
History: The Wells constituency had been in Conservative hands since 1945 when Liberal Democrat Tessa Munt unseated David Heathcoat-Amory by 800 votes in 2010. It is a declared Tory target seat for 2015. Cheese and cider-making as well as the Glastonbury Festival give the area a national reputation.
2015's confirmed candidates:
Paul Arnold Independent
Jon Cousins Green
Dave Dobbs The Birthday Party
James Heappey Conservative
Helen Hims UKIP
Chris Inchley Labour
Tessa Munt Liberal Democrats
Gypsy Watkins IndependentClick here for details of what happened in Wells in the 2010 general election.
Yeovil
Click here to listen to our constituency profile.
Settlements include: Yeovil, Chard, Crewkerne, Ilminster, South Petherton and West Coker (Ham Hill pictured)
History: Yeovil has been held by the Liberal Democrats since 1983, when Paddy Ashdown ended 65 years of Conservative MPs here. David Laws has been the Liberal Democrat MP since 2001. In 2010 he got a bigger majority than Paddy Ashdown ever had: 13,036 over the Conservative candidate. But since then he quit the cabinet and was suspended from parliament for breaking the rules over expenses, though he's since been made a minister again. Helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland is among the constituency's biggest employers, and it's home to one of the busiest military airfields in the UK, RNAS Yeovilton.
2015's confirmed candidates:
Marcus Fysh Conservative
Sheena King Labour
David Laws Liberal Democrats
Emily McIvor Green
Simon Smedley UKIPClick here for details of what happened in Yeovil in the 2010 general election.
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