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Tories must appeal to Mancunians to win election, says politics professor

28/12/2007

The Conservative Party's inability to win over voters in Manchester and the north could prevent it from taking power at the next general election, it has been claimed.

A new study found that the lack of a Tory base in Greater Manchester will reduce David Cameron's chances of winning an overall majority, according to urban politics expert Professor Tony Travers, from the London School of Economics.

Professor Travers said that rebuilding voter confidence "will be a long hard slog" and will not happen by the time of the next general election.

"The Tories simply aren't winning in all the places that they used to," he commented.

"Unless something changes the party's relative weakness in northern seats will deny the Conservatives an overall majority."

Graham Brady, MP for Altrincham, is the only Conservative MP in Greater Manchester, while Manchester City Council has no Tory councillors at all, despite having 46 in 1978.

In April 2006, the Conservatives held its spring conference at the Manchester International Convention Centre.