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Roger Phillips: 23/04/2010

23/04/2010

BBC Radio Merseyside - Roger Phillips, 23/04/2010

A special election debate in Ellesmere Port and Neston.

The second in a series of special pre-election debates from the BBC Radio Merseyside area. Today we'll be focusing on Ellesmere Port and Neston.  

The Roger Phillips phone-in will be broadcasting live from the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port.

As ever we're hoping you too will take part. Just call 0151 709 933, text 07786 209333 or email roger.phillips@bbc.co.uk

Joining Roger will be prospective parliamentary candidates Andrew Miller for Labour, Stuart Penketh for the Conservatives, Denise Aspinall for the Liberal Democrats and Henry Crocker for UKIP. Also standing is Independent, Jonathan Starkey.  

The seat of Ellesmere Port and Neston was held by Conservative Michael Woodcock from its creation in 1983 to 1992, when Andrew Miller won it for Labour. He has held it ever since, although his share of the vote has decreased at each subsequent election. Mr Miller's majority was 6,486 in 2005.
At the election, the seat retains the part-ward of Elton from the City of Chester, and loses the part-ward of Barrow to Eddisbury. It also gains the villages of Stoake and Wervin. 

Administratively in Cheshire, the seat of Ellesmere Port and Neston is unequivocally within the social and economic orbits of Merseyside, to the north.

Squeezed between the marshy estuary of the Dee and Mersey, the seat is socially, but also physically, polarised: industrial landscapes contrast with beautiful countryside and tourist spots.

Next to the Mersey is the Stanlow oil refinery complex. The petrochemicals industry employs around 1,000 workers, a tenth of its 1980s workforce, but technological improvements have increased productivity to record levels. The power station at Ince has been replaced by an industrial glass manufacturer, and the area also hosts docks, oil depots, sewage works, fertiliser factories and other, smaller concerns.

Vauxhall Motors also have a major factory to the north of Ellesmere Port. As one of the constituency's largest employers, it was a considerable boost for the seat when General Motors granted it the contract to produce the New Astra.

The most significant economic development in the last decade has been the opening of the Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet Village. It has been expanded to include a deep-sea leisure centre, an IMAX cinema and a fitness centre.

According to the 2001 census, the population is predominantly white, with about a fifth living in social housing.

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