As Gordon comes to town, new poll predicts that Lib Dems will hold Manchester Withington

5.07.39pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 25th Sep 2008

The Liberal Democrats are set to hold Manchester Withington in the next general election according to the biggest ever poll of marginal seats, published this week.

As under-fire PM Gordon Brown visited the city, research carried out by YouGov predicts a strong showing by the present MP, John Leech, who is set to hold his seat.

The report also shows that the Lib Dem MPs are the most highly regarded by their constituents and that they are better at keeping in touch with local people than both Labour and the Tories.

John Leech said:

'Everybody knows that in Manchester Withington, the next general election will be a straight fight between the Liberal Democrats and Gordon Brown's candidate, and as this poll shows we are in a strong position to hold the seat.'

'Since the last election, in terms of real votes cast in real elections, we have increased our vote year on year so I am pleased that local people are recognising that the Lib Dems are the best choice for their area and are valuing the hard work done locally by the Liberal Democrats.'

<ENDS>

Notes to editors:

1.The YouGov poll, carried out on behalf of PoliticsHome.com is the largest ever study of marginal seats, having used an unprecedented sample of almost 35,000 people over 238 marginal constituencies.

2.The poll predicts a 1997 scale defeat for Labour, with 8 cabinet ministers losing their seats.

3.Respondents living in an area that currently has a Liberal Democrat MP were almost twice as likely to recall having received a newsletter, leaflet or survey from the party recently as people in Labour seats.

4.Liberal Democrat MPs were more highly regarded by their constituents than Conservative or Labour MPs were by theirs.

5.The poll can be accessed at http://www.politicshome.com/Landing.aspx?Blog=2939&perma=link#