Chester considers itself part of the north-west and is within easy reach of Merseyside and on the verge of the Wirral.
This constituency not only encapsulates the historic city itself but the rural areas outside it as well.
These areas saved the seat for the Conservatives in the 1992 election but the growing industrialisation helped Labour win here in 1997 with 10,500 vote majority on a 78% turnout.
Locally, Labour provides stiff competition for the Tories in several suburbs including Upton and Hoole.
The Liberal Democrats fair well here in local elections but have in the past been squeezed out by the tight two-party system in general elections.
Christine Russell, a librarian, became the first Labour MP for Chester in 1997, by defeating the sitting Conservative and colourful television celebrity Gyles Brandreth.
The Conservatives had previously only ever lost control of the Chester seat on one occasion in the last 100 years, in 1906.