Of the five Fife constituencies, this is the only one not held by Labour. One would imagine that with its prime farmland, popular tourist resorts and elegant market towns it would be a Tory seat, and indeed that was the case up until 1987, but since then it has been held for the Liberal Democrats by Menzies Campbell.
Fife North East contains some of the best groomed towns in Scotland. Cupar, the capital of Fife, is a bustling market town but the most famous town in the seat, St Andrews, is perhaps the most conservative.
The home of golf, St Andrews also houses Scotland’s oldest university, founded in 1410. Graduates include the Conservative former Scottish Secretary Michael Forsyth, Dr Madsen Pirie, founder of the Adam Smith Institute, and a host of former Tory ministers including Chris Chope, Allan Stewart, Rob Jones and Michael Fallon. Former SNP leader Alex Salmond is also a St Andrews alumnus.
The most famous prospective student is Prince William, who starts studying art history here in the autumn of 2001.
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