Basingstoke is situated in Hampshire just off the M3 motorway. It is particularly popular among commuters to South West London and the boundaries of the parliamentary constituency have contracted as the town has grown.
Basingstoke's post-war population growth has been amongst the most dramatic in the country, rising from 16,000 in 1951 to 26,000 in 1961 and then doubling over the next ten years. By 1996 the population had reached 86,600. It began with London overspill council estates and private residential developments but in recent years new estates have been built by the private sector.
The town is home to many high-tech and service industries which have moved out of London in the 1980s. Firms involved with electronics, micro-computing, insurance, drugs and security printing are based here, as are the Automobile Association's headquarters.
Despite changes in the size and composition of the constituency, Basingstoke remained a Conservative seat throughout the last decade - in 1992 the majority was 21,198 (30.9%). However, the swing to Labour in 1997 means that the seat is now considered more marginal.