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Tory revival not impacting on Manchester, says professor

23/04/2008

The Conservatives still have a lot of work to do to gain widespread support in Manchester and the north, it has been claimed.

Despite opinion polls showing the Tories in the lead, the party is yet to prove itself in places like Manchester, which is a Labour stronghold, says Professor Jonathan Tonge.

Professor Tonge, who is head of the politics school at the University of Liverpool, told the BBC that the "Cameron effect is rather modest in the north".

"Although the Conservatives have made a few gains it's a very patchy picture and the fact is that in the inner cities the Conservatives are still not a factor," he explained.

He said the Tories still need to win seats in the boroughs on the fringes of the city-region, like Bury and Bolton.

"The Conservatives are doing better than they were pre-David Cameron but they're still not doing well enough to take those key seats at the next general election," he concluded.

At a local level, the Conservatives had made small inroads in Greater Manchester, For example, they are running the council in Bury for the first time in 21 years.