Constituency challenge: Sunak vs Starmer in the tourism stakes

By the time I pedalled wearily into the broad High Street of Northallerton, I was rather wishing I had made the trip across Rishi Sunak’s vast constituency by helicopter.

The prosperous county town of North Yorkshire is partnered with Richmond in the prime minister’s home patch. The parliamentary boundaries of Richmond and Northallerton stretch fully two-thirds of the way across the north of England.

It is a canvasser’s nightmare. The western end is 20 miles from the Irish Sea at Morecambe Bay, while the eastern edge is just five miles from Yorkshire’s North Sea coast. So thinly populated is it that I encountered many sheep before meeting anyone with an actual vote.

Keir Starmer’s constituency, in contrast, is a narrow and densely populated rectangle of north-central London. Holborn and St Pancras runs from Tufnell Park in the north (not a park but a Tube station) to Covent Garden in the south. I reckon you could pedal the whole thing in 20 minutes without breaking either the law or a sweat.

I took my time to evaluate the tourism potential of each. Would the leader of the opposition’s vibrant community prevail over the hundreds of square miles of sunlit uplands in the prime minister’s constituency?

The scores are now in, with 100 points divided between the candidates over 10 rounds.

Getting there: For my visit to Rishi Sunak-land, I arrived from Kirkby Stephen, a station on the Settle & Carlisle Line in Cumbria. There is one main-line rail station in Richmond and Northallerton: the latter town is astride the East Coast line. Trains run from Northallerton to London King’s Cross in about three-and-a-half hours.

All three north-facing termini in the capital are in Keir Starmer’s constituency: King’s Cross, St Pancras and Euston. The eastern edge borders an entrance to Farringdon station on the Elizabeth Line.

Starmer 8, Sunak 2

Nearest airport: Closest to Holborn and St Pancras is London City (seven miles). Closest to Richmond and Northallerton is Teesside (200 yards). Helicopter parking available. To be fair, though, London is the world centre of aviation; Teesside is not (yet).

Sunak 8, Starmer 2

Getting around: Keir Starmer’s voters can choose from a dozen Tube stations. Between the Piccadilly line stations of Holborn and St Pancras, the Piccadilly Line runs every couple of minutes.