This seat is traditionally a Tory heartland, and centres on the medieval town after which it is named. The area is basically prosperous shire territory with unemployment at below 2%, less than half the national average. It extends as far to the south as the Bassett area of Southampton, an affluent but nevertheless totally urban suburb; and to the north up the Test Valley, taking in many rustic sounding villages such as Nether Wallop, Over Wallop and Harewood.
A landmark in the area is the extensive park and Palladian house of Broadlands, once the home of the Victorian Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, and later of Lord Louis Mountbatten.
Romsey was a sensational by-election gain for the Liberal Democrats in May 2000, when Sandra Gidley obtained a 12.6% swing from the Conservatives to put herself in the House of Commons, after the death of the sitting Conservative MP in a fire at his home.