The late Audrey Wise held this seat for Labour in 1997, but her death in 2000 caused a by-election, which Labour duly won.
Classed as Lancashire’s market town, (although the council continues to press for city status), Preston is an old industrial centre originally based on cotton but now reliant on engineering, light industry and its proximity to the M6.
The town’s docks, once council-owned but closed down in 1981, have recently been redeveloped as housing, aiding the town’s reputation as a growing shopping and administrative centre.
There has also been a growth of affluent residential areas around Bamber Bridge and Walton-le-Dale. But nearly 30% of workers are partly skilled or unskilled and 23% of the town’s huge swathes of cheap terraced housing is owned by the council - a figure high above the national average.