§ Mr. Simon CoombsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the 20 English non-metropolitan counties which have shown the greatest percentage growth in electorate since 1978; and what have been the percentage growth and actual figures in each case.
Non-metropolitan county Total electors Difference 1978 1988 Actual Percentage growth Buckinghamshire 377,325 467,696 90,371 24 Cambridgeshire 404,023 481,690 77,667 19 Wiltshire 359,905 425,945 66,040 18 Shropshire 260,741 307,120 46,379 18 Northamptonshire 369,929 430,161 60,232 16 Somerset 307,941 357,607 49,666 16 Hereford and Worcester 446,687 517,499 70,812 16 Lincolnshire 389,806 450,138 60,332 15 Dorset 450,002 518,161 68,159 15 Berkshire 473,307 544,491 71,184 15 Hampshire 1,029,882 1,184,705 154,823 15 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 314,386 361,455 47,069 15 West Sussex 490,420 557,173 66,753 14 Suffolk 418,613 475,274 56,661 14 Oxfordshire 369,547 419,416 49,869 13 Norfolk 509,203 576,844 67,641 13 Bedfordshire 342,481 387,697 45,216 13 Gloucestershire 363,944 408,090 44,146 12 Essex 1,065,353 1,189,298 123,945 12 North Yorkshire 491,313 548,233 56,920 12