Labourís overall vote share here stood in 1997 at 71%, demonstrating just how safe this seat has been for the party. Indeed the Central division has never returned an MP other than a Labour member.
Manchester Central was first created in 1974 when the cityís seats were reduced in number from 10 to 8 to counter the population exodus. Since then the seat has been redrawn through subsequent reviews and now includes much more of Manchesterís inner city areas than it did during previous incarnations, including the troubled Moss Side Estate from the old Stretford seat, notorious for its difficulties with guns and drug-related crime.
Manchester Central includes much of the commercial, business and retail core of the city, which was devastated by an IRA bomb on 15 June 1996. Companies have successfully rebuilt following this atrocity, and the seat includes heavy engineering, wholesale clothing and toy firms.
Central is also home to Strangeways Prison, Manchester University, Boddingtonís Brewery, Granada Studios, - which houses Coronation Street and a replica House of Commons chamber - and virtually all the land under the control of the Central Manchester Development Corporation. The new tram system links the Victoria and Piccadilly railway stations across the city centre.