Neck and neck in Cheadle

It looks neck and neck in the Cheadle by-election, with a real possibility of the Conservatives winning a by-election from another party for the first time since Angela Rumbold won Mitcham and Morden in 1982.
The by-election was caused by the death of Patsy Calton weeks after she held the constituency at the General Election.

She won the seat in 2001 with a majority of 33, the smallest in the country.

Although unable to campaign because of a recurrence of her cancer, Patsy Calton increased her majority to 4,000.

The Lib Dem candidate this time is Mark Hunter, the leader of Stockport Council.

Big issue

He has come under pressure over the council's record on crime fighting.

The Tories have also made a big issue of the fact that he's an "outsider", living three miles away in Marple, whereas their candidate lives in the constituency.

Stephen Day was the Conservative MP from 1987 until 2001.

A backbencher, his main claim to fame was legislation for rear seat safety belts.

He lost to Calton in 2001 and again this May.

'Prosperous commuter land'

Labour's vote is heavily squeezed, although the candidate Martin Miller is highly regarded.

The constituency is prosperous suburban commuter land to the south of Manchester, with 88% of people owning their own homes.

It has the highest proportion of professional and managerial people north of Watford.

Ethnic communities are thin on the ground and the big issues of G8 and terrorism have barely impinged on the hand-to-hand fighting over local issues on crime and road congestion.


BBC North West