Immigration Worries the 'Deep South' ; Gilligan On Monday

Summary

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LET US be blunt about this: Croydon is not an exciting place. Last year's bestseller in local bookshops was a calendar called Roundabouts of Croydon, showing a different roundabout for each month of the year. Madonna and Guy have yet to be sighted in the Whitgift Centre. Even the Tory challenger for the marginal seat of Croydon Central, Andrew Pelling, says the town is "grey".

But for the purposes of Election 2005, Croydon Central, with its Labour majority of just under 4,000, is one of the most thrilling seats in London.

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Extract

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Immigration Worries the 'Deep South' ; Gilligan On Monday

Packed with the kind of people who used to be called "C2s", it is a classic suburban battleground, not to mention an enjoyably vicious fight between two rather different kinds of politician.

There is a Tony Blair figure: a smooth, imperturbable political pro with a smile, and a policy, for everyone. That is Mr Pelling, the Tory. And there is a John Major figure: straighter, more uptight, occasionall...

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