In the 1997 general election two results symbolised the overall battle - Michael Portillo’s defeat at the hands of Stephen Twigg at Enfield Southgate and Martin Bell’s trouncing of Neil Hamilton at Tatton.
Mr Twigg’s victory was impressive, but the anti-Tory swing in north London was dwarfed by that in Cheshire. Tatton was reckoned to be the fifth safest Conservative seat in the country with a notional majority of over 22,000. Mr Bell, an independent anti-sleaze campaigner, took it with a majority of over 11,000 votes after Labour and the Lib Dems withdrew.
This seat includes the market towns of Knutsford, Wilmslow and Alderley Edge and their environs. One of the most prosperous areas in England, its population is predominantly white and middle class.
Mr Bell promised in his manifesto that he would serve for only one term, and he is sticking to his word. He is contesting Eric Pickle’s Brentwood and Ongar seat instead. William Hague’s speechwriter George Osborne is the Tory candidate this time around.