Norman Baker, who captured this seat for the Liberal Democrats in 1997, won with a 7.5% swing. It was an unexpected Lib Dem gain. The seat not only has an impeccable Tory history, but from 1885 and 1974 it was represented by members of the same family - the Beamishes.
The picturesque town of Lewes is small but politically important - as the County town it houses the headquarters of fire, police, ambulance, health authority services, three tiers of local government and a Crown Court. The town’s history goes back a long way. It began to develop after William landed at Pevensey Bay in 1066, but by 1557 it had become famous for rather grimmer reasons - persecution of Protestants by Queen Mary led to 17 martyrs being burned to death in the High Street. These deaths are remembered in the annual pageantry of the Lewes Bonfire where an image of the Pope is burned.
Unemployment in the seat is low overall but this masks much higher levels in Newhaven, which receives money from the South East Development Agency and European sources to encourage housing and other development.