Like many coastal constituencies that depend on farming and tourism, Scarborough was once considered safe Tory territory. But just as Hove, Hastings, Thanet North, Blackpool, Morcambe and Crosby all succumbed to Labour in 1997, so did Scarborough and Whitby, for the first time since the seat's creation in 1918.
The seat has experienced economic decline and demographic change which has affected so many of the UK’s seaside areas.
Scarborough is Yorkshire's premier resort, and features a certain amount of light industry, not to mention a busy port which provides the town with its main economy - fishing.
Outside the two eponymous towns, the rugged countryside is home to dozens of farms and a large chunk of the North York Moors National Park. The once-famous giant golf balls at Fylingdale Early Warning station have been replaced by an equally giant pyramid that monitors satellites.