Holby City woman

Last updated

Holby City woman (HCW) [1] was a voter demographic which was identified by Conservative Party strategists in the United Kingdom as a key group of voters for the Conservative Party at the 2010 general election. The term is taken from the fictional BBC hospital drama Holby City , set in South West England. The character of Faye Morton (played by actress Patsy Kensit) has been described as an example of a typical "Holby City woman". [1]

Contents

Characteristics

The "Holby City woman" is a female voter in her 30s or 40s, employed in a clinical or clerical position or some other public sector job. [2] She is a swing voter in General Elections. [3] Key issues for such a voter include: education, the state of the National Health Service, care for the elderly [4] and childcare. [5] A "Holby City woman" has voted for the Labour Party in previous elections but her identification with the Labour Party is not strong. [1] Such a voter is likely to be in charge of family finances and is therefore accepting of public sector cuts during a recession. Conservative strategists believe that the Damian McBride controversy and the alleged "macho" culture surrounding the Prime Minister will turn such voters against the Labour Party. [1] Occupations for HCW include nurses, administrators and teachers. [3] "Holby City Women" earn less than £30,000 per annum. [5]

Analysis

The Times columnist David Aaronovitch has argued that the Conservative Party may struggle to win over "Holby Women". [2] The Health Policy Insight argue that policies aimed to appeal to "Holby Women" such as ring-fencing health spending appeal more to left-minded voters rather than right-wing voters. [6]

Similar terms

The term has been compared to “Worcester woman” — Middle England voters who were seen as key to the success of New Labour under the leadership of Tony Blair. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and colloquially known as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party. It is the current governing party, having won the 2019 general election, and has been the primary governing party in the United Kingdom since 2010. The party sits on the right-wing or centre-right of the political spectrum. It encompasses various ideological factions including one-nation conservatives, Thatcherites, and traditionalist conservatives. The party holds the annual Conservative Party Conference, at which senior Conservative figures promote party policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997 United Kingdom general election</span>

The 1997 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 1 May 1997. The governing Conservative Party led by Prime Minister John Major was defeated in a landslide by the Labour Party led by Tony Blair, achieving a 179-seat majority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1979 United Kingdom general election</span>

The 1979 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the House of Commons.

Essex man and Mondeo man are stereotypical figures which were popularised in 1990s Britain. The "Essex man" as a political figure is an example of a type of median voter and was used to help explain the electoral successes of Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. The closely related "Mondeo man" was identified as the sort of voter the Labour Party needed to attract to win the election in 1997. Basildon man and woman are narrower terms being used synonymously.

Worcester woman is a political term used by polling companies in the United Kingdom. It profiles or describes a type of median voter, a working class woman in her 30s with two children who worries about quality of life issues and has little interest in politics. Not necessarily hailing from the West Midlands city of Worcester, Worcester woman has been described as an important swing voter when it comes to deciding elections.

Sir Lynton Keith Crosby is an Australian political strategist who has managed election campaigns for right-of-centre parties in several countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 United Kingdom general election</span> General election held in the United Kingdom

The 2010 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 May 2010, with 45,597,461 registered voters entitled to vote to elect members to the House of Commons. The election took place in 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom under the first-past-the-post system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faye Morton</span> Fictional nurse in BBC TV medical drama

Faye Morton is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actress Patsy Kensit. The character first appeared on-screen on 30 January 2007 in the series nine episode "Into the Dark". Kensit had made a former unrelated guest appearance on Holby City's sister show, Casualty, in 2001.

The 2002 Redditch Borough Council election of 2 May 2002 elected members of Redditch Borough Council in the West Midlands region, England. One third of the council stood for re-election and the Labour Party lost overall control of the council to no overall control for the first time in many years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 St Albans City and District Council election</span>

The 2002 St Albans City and District Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of St Albans District Council in Hertfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Wyre Forest District Council election</span>

The 2008 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.

The 1999 Worcester City Council election took place on 6 May 1999 to elect members of Worcester City Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.

The 2003 Worcester City Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Worcester City Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Worcester City Council election</span>

The 2006 Worcester City Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of Worcester City Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Worcester City Council election</span>

The 2007 Worcester City Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Worcester City Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Worcester City Council election</span>

The 2008 Worcester City Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Worcester City Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.

"Motorway man" is a political term used by polling companies in the United Kingdom. The phrase was coined by Jim Pickard of the Financial Times in the run up to the general election of 2010 and describes a type of floating voter who it is believed can determine the outcome of an election by the way he casts his vote. The name is derived from the idea that this type of voter lives on a modern housing estate, with easy access to the motorway network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 United Kingdom general election</span> General election held in the United Kingdom

The 2017 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 8 June 2017, two years after the previous general election in 2015; it was the first since 1992 to be held on a day that did not coincide with any local elections. The governing Conservative Party remained the largest single party in the House of Commons but lost its small overall majority, resulting in the formation of a Conservative minority government with a confidence and supply agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland.

WebCameron was a series of online videos recorded by the British Conservative Party leader David Cameron between 2006 and 2010, while the Conservatives were the party of opposition, and Cameron was Leader of the Opposition. Named after Cameron, the series was launched with much publicity in September 2006, when the party was keen to rebrand itself as a modern entity by embracing new technology, and appealing to a younger generation of voters adept at using online media.

Workington man is a political term used by polling companies in the United Kingdom. Named after the Cumbria town of Workington, the term was first used ahead of the 2019 general election. Workington man describes the stereotypical swing voter who it was believed would determine the election result. Their support of the Conservatives in the 2019 election helped the party break the Labour Party's Red Wall of safe seats.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Livingstone, Tomos (28 March 2013) [Originally published 3 August 2009]. "Tories hope Holby City Woman will clinch the next General Election for them". WalesOnline. Archived from the original on 5 August 2009.
  2. 1 2 Aaronovitch, David (28 July 2009). "Can Tories win over Holby Woman?". London: TimesOnline. Archived from the original on 31 July 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Four famous voter stereotypes". WalesOnline. 28 March 2013 [Originally published 3 August 2009]. Archived from the original on 5 August 2009.
  4. 1 2 Oliver, Jonathan (26 July 2009). "David Cameron in bid to seduce Holby City woman". London: TimesOnline. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
  5. 1 2 Hunt, Liz (28 July 2009). "When are children really at risk?". London: Telegraph. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
  6. "David Cameron, NHS ladies' man: Health Policy Today 28 July 2009". Health Policy Insight. 28 July 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.