Labour constituencies flying the flag for Broadband Britain

Labour supporters are more likely to be switched on than their Tory counterparts, as new research has found that the majority of the most broadband-connected constituencies are flying Blair's banner.

Broadband analysts Point Topic have found that seven out of 10 of the most connected constituencies are Labour. Two Welsh constituencies topped the list of most connected, with both Cardiff Central and Cardiff North estimated to have 37 percent of constituents getting their Internet access through fat pipes.

The remaining three most broadband-enabled areas are Tory held.

According to Point Topic, areas that are the most broadband-friendly are those with voters that tend to be young and affluent, as well as regions in which BT is doing battle with the cable companies for market share.

Of the 10 least well-connected areas, Wales also makes a strong showing: seven are located in rural Wales and are experiencing connectivity rates below 10 percent.

Only one of the 10 — Ynys Mon — is a Labour seat; three are Tory, two are Lib-Dem held and the remaining four are Plaid Cymru constituencies.

Point Topic puts Plaid Cymru's poor showing in the broadband stakes down to the lack of availability — the rural nature of the constituencies means they're not catered for by the cable companies and often the very small centres of population are too far away from the telephone exchanges to make broadband provision viable.