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]
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]
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]
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]
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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.
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