The rural seat of Fylde, located on the peninsula which juts into the Irish Sea from about half way up the Lancashire coast, has traditionally been Conservative. Coming into the general election of 1997, the Conservatives held nine Lancashire seats; afterwards the figure had been slashed to two, with Ribble Valley being the only other survivor.
Formerly known as South Fylde before the 1983 boundary review which saw 30,000 voters moved into neighbouring South Ribble, the seat was famed for returning monolithic Tory majorities. In 1979, it recorded the largest majority on mainland Britain - 32,247 votes - exceeded only by the huge seats that were still permitted in Northern Ireland at that time.
The constituency’s administrative centre is the seaside resort of Lytham St Annes. This is a genteel town whose popularity as a place to which to retire accounts for the fact that nearly a third of the electorate is aged 60 or over and almost 80% of residents are home owners.
The seat’s other main town is historic Kirkham. With the exception of Cottam, a suburb of Preston, the rest of the seat is starkly rural.