ABSTRACT
The south-western peninsula has long been considered relatively poor ground for the Conservatives despite its predominantly rural nature and its dependence on tourism and agriculture to a greater degree than most English regions. Indeed despite the attempts the Tories made to corral the ‘countryside vote’ after the debates on fox hunting during the 1997 Parliament, and also the impact of foot and mouth disease in this area in 2001, they did fall back further in the general election, though they are still the largest party in the region, holding 20 of its 51 constituencies. As the Liberal Democrats advanced one to 15 seats, and Labour also added one to reach 16, this is the one region of Britain which can truly be described as an arena for three-party competition.
