Phil Willis

Under the boundary review prior to the 1997 election the old Harrogate seat lost rural areas in the west of the constituency to the new Vale of York seat leaving the new seat of Harrogate and Knaresborough an essentially urban constituency.

The constituency of Harrogate and Knaresborough includes the Victorian town of Harrogate and the historic market town of Knaresborough. Harrogate's prosperity is based on its spa heritage but more recently has become a very successful conference and exhibition venue. Both towns are popular tourist centres. As a result the local economy is dominated by the service sector with some light industry and new technology companies.

The political fight in Harrogate and Knaresborough is clearly between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. Within the constituency boundaries there are 27 Liberal Democrat District Councillors, 7 Tories and just 1 Labour councillor. In the 1997 County elections the constituency returned 10 Liberal Democrats, 1 Conservative and 1 Independent.

Knaresborough and Scriven are the only parts of the Constituency to be parished. Knaresborough Town Council has a Liberal Democrat majority with 8 Liberal Democrat, 4 Labour and 2 Conservative members.