City of Chester
2010 Results:
Conservative: 18995 (40.6%)
Labour: 16412 (35.08%)
Liberal Democrat: 8930 (19.09%)
UKIP: 1225 (2.62%)
Green: 535 (1.14%)
English Democrat: 594 (1.27%)
Independent: 99 (0.21%)
Majority: 2583 (5.52%)
Notional 2005 Results:
Labour: 17088 (38.8%)
Conservative: 16275 (37%)
Liberal Democrat: 9611 (21.8%)
Other: 1063 (2.4%)
Majority: 813 (1.8%)
Actual 2005 result
Conservative: 16543 (36.8%)
Labour: 17458 (38.9%)
Liberal Democrat: 9818 (21.9%)
UKIP: 776 (1.7%)
Other: 308 (0.7%)
Majority: 915 (2%)
2001 Result
Conservative: 14866 (33.1%)
Labour: 21760 (48.5%)
Liberal Democrat: 6589 (14.7%)
UKIP: 899 (2%)
Other: 763 (1.7%)
Majority: 6894 (15.4%)
1997 Result
Conservative: 19253 (34.2%)
Labour: 29806 (53%)
Liberal Democrat: 5353 (9.5%)
Referendum: 1487 (2.6%)
Other: 358 (0.6%)
Majority: 10553 (18.8%)
Boundary changes: only minor changes. Loses small parts of Elton to Ellesmere Port and Tattenhall and Waverton to Cheshire. These are all rural parts of larger split wards, and the changes may actually be better for Labour than the raw figures suggest.
Profile: the seat covers Chester itself and surrounding villages. Chester is a historic walled market town in Cheshire. During the industrial revolution Chester became an upmarket residential town for the upper classes fleeing the industiral sprawl of Manchester and Liverpool and like much of Cheshire it is a relatively affluent area. However, Labour support in housing estates like Blacon and Lache make Chester into a marginal seat. Conservative for most of the twentieth century, Chester fell to Labour in the 1997 landslide, unseated the television celebrity Gyles Brandreth.
Current MP: Stephen Mosley (Conservative) Cheshire county councillor since 2005. Chester councillor since 2000. Deputy leader of the Conservative group on Chester city council
Stephen Mosley (Conservative) Cheshire county councillor since 2005. Chester councillor since 2000. Deputy leader of the Conservative group on Chester city council
Christine Russell(Labour) born 1945, Holbeach. Educated at Spalding High School and NW London Polytechnic. Librarian. Former Chester councillor, assistant to Lyndon Harrison MEP and co-ordinator for Mind. First elected as MP for Chester in 1997 (more information at They work for you)
Lizzie Jewkes (Liberal Democrat) Educated at Newarke Girls Grammar School and University of East London. Founder of a washable nappy company. Contested Vale of Clwyd 2005, Ellesmere Port and Neston 1992.
Tom Barker (Green) Scientist, providing scientific advice to local, national and international governmental bodies. Contested City of Chester 1992.
Allan Weddell (UKIP) Educated at St Peters, Southbourn. Managing director of a family filing products company. Contested North West Region in 1999 European elections. Contested City of Chester 2001, 2005.
Ed Abrams (English Democrat) Contested Hartlepool by-election 2004, Northwest 2004 European elections, City of Chester 2005, Monmouth 2007 Welsh assembly elections, North West 2009 European elections.
John Whittingham (Independent)2001 Census Demographics
Total 2001 Population: 88739
Male: 47.9%
Female: 52.1%
Under 18: 20.6%
Over 60: 22.7%
Born outside UK: 5.6%
White: 97.7%
Black: 0.2%
Asian: 0.8%
Mixed: 0.7%
Other: 0.6%
Christian: 76.8%
Muslim: 0.7%
Full time students: 5.8%
Graduates 16-74: 27.5%
No Qualifications 16-74: 24.4%
Owner-Occupied: 70.4%
Social Housing: 16.7% (Council: 7.1%, Housing Ass.: 9.6%)
Privately Rented: 9.3%
Homes without central heating and/or private bathroom: 7.6%
Yes Christine Russell at least has had the guts to attempt to defend her seat (as far as we know!) but this looks like a nailed-down Tory gain doesn’t it. No dead head here.
According to today’s Chester Chronicle, there will be an Independent standing in the constituency, supporting community interests such as the Odeon and CFU.
Con gain maj 5000
Con maj 5,000
On current polls the LDs could come through the middle, but I expect a Tory gain.
It would be nice to see a bit of a campaign. Have seen Mosley briefly at the local shops, not seen Russell or Jewkes. If they were a bit more visible then it could be a more interesting contest. Have also seen a total of around 6 posters which may reflect the general apathetic attitude of the electorate.
I have a picture of John Whittingham here
http://www.johnwhittingham.happyhost.org/
interesting take on Chester http://skipper59.blogspot.com/
Con gain majority 4000+
CON GAIN
Stephen Mosley MP majority 2,500
Pretty good effort from Labour. This seat’s just about close enough to Liverpool to be affected by the trends one sees in Merseyside. This is one the party will be hopeful of retaking in the future.
Labour did much better than I expected. Still, the Tory majority is narrowly higher than in 1992 by 200 votes.