Inside the Lib Dem campaign which ousted the Tories in Stockport with ‘an army’ of support
Cheers rang around Stockport town hall last week as the Lib Dems secured victory in the marginal seats of Cheadle and Hazel Grove.
Stockport councillors Lisa Smart and Tom Morrison were elected to Parliament, with Cheadle's former Tory MP Mary Robinson losing her seat, and Hazel Grove Conservative candidate Paul Athans winning fewer votes than Labour.
It was part of a disastrous national picture for the Tories who were booted from government and made to suffer in their traditional rural heartlands – with the Lib Dems storming to power in many of these seats.
As Greater Manchester returned a total of 25 Labour MPs, the two Stockport constituencies of Cheadle and Hazel Grove became a Lib Dem enclave surrounded by a sea of red on the region's political map.
But weeks before polls opened on July 4, it looked as though Conservative voters in both areas had already given up.
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey made visits to the constituencies in the run up to election day, calling them "critical" targets for the party.
And a number of Lib Dem activists, from local councillors to party supporters, were visibly present on the doorstep around the Stockport seats, with some residents getting multiple knocks on the door in the run up to the general election.
A Lib Dem insider who was active on the campaign trail in Stockport said: "The Conservatives were extremely visible early in the campaign but that did fade, which probably had more to do with how badly their national campaign went.
"Residents understand that Labour can't win in Hazel Grove and Cheadle – and frankly don't want them to either, we have a long liberal tradition in both seats.
"The Conservatives didn't deliver for residents when they had the chance but the Lib Dems have a proven track record of standing up for their communities.
"But Hazel Grove and Cheadle are likely to be their top targets in the region next time around."
In the run up to polling day on July 4, a number of gardens in Cheadle and Hazel Grove sported familiar Lib Dem-yellow placards stating that the party was 'Winning here!', with a noticeable absence of Conservative support.
Lifelong Tory voters in Marple told the Local Democracy Reporting Service they were "embarrassed" to make a public display of support for the party, and were considering switching to the Lib Dems.
As the exit poll landed at 10pm on July 4, it became clear that many of them had.
While both Tom Morrison and Lisa Smart won virtually the same number of votes this year as in 2019 when they previously stood in the same seats, Tory support collapsed.
Not only had Conservative voters turned their backs on Rishi Sunak's party, but many had been won over by an "army of local champions" who helped turn the Lib Dems into an election-winning machine in the leafy Stockport suburbs.
This was the case in the recent local elections in May, and over the past few years.
In the 2022 Stockport local elections, the Lib Dems made gains from the Conservatives in wards in Bramhall, putting them ahead of Labour as the largest party in the town hall.
A route was completed in 2023 when Stockport lost all of its Tory councillors.
And in the local elections this year, the Lib Dems made further gains at Labour's expense, putting them one councillor away from taking full control of the town hall.
Having served as councillors for a number of years, Lisa Smart and Tom Morrison were familiar faces to voters, with a record of tackling local issues.
Council leader Mark Hunter, himself a former MP in Cheadle before he was defeated by Mary Robinson in 2015, is also a well-known figure around the borough.
Speaking after the election result, Mr Hunter said the party worked "incredibly hard" to win the seats back, and pointed out that both candidates are familiar "local champions" to residents.
He added that it was "karma" to watch Mary Robinson lose the seat he had previously held, and that the Lib Dem victories were a combination of running a "positive campaign" and "very clear disillusionment with the government."
Paul Athans, the Tory candidate in Hazel Grove, pointed to the nearly 7,000 votes for Reform UK for his defeat, as well as Conservative voters staying at home.
Cheadle MP Tom Morrison said there was a "thirst for change" in the constituency, and that "every door" knocked on told him about their concerns at Stepping Hill Hospital, which falls into the constituency.
Under the Conservative government, Stepping Hill has gone through a torrid time, with reports of collapsing ceilings, whole departments closing, and flooded corridors.
Mr Morrison said it left residents "sick of the Tories" who wanted someone who would "stand up for Cheadle and fight for Stepping Hill and our high street."
Lib Dem insiders agreed – there was anger about the situation at Stepping Hill that was not being addressed by the government.
All of this helped turn the semi-rural villages and towns of southern Stockport into a Lib Dem stronghold – with a majority of more than 10,000 in Cheadle, and just less than 7,000 in Hazel Grove.
Despite Labour's defeat in the boroughs, the party made progress with its vote share, winning almost 2,000 more votes than the Conservatives in Hazel Grove.
Claire Vibert, the Stockport councillor who stood for Labour in Hazel Grove, was clear in her belief that her party can challenge the Lib Dems in the constituency when the next election comes around.
Some polls even predicted that Labour would win the seat this year, although they turned out to be wrong.
If Labour is able to challenge in the new Lib Dem enclave of southern Stockport, it would mark a major shift in the areas which have historically been Lib Dem-Tory marginals.
Ms Vibert said: "What we've seen in Hazel Grove is a real surge in the Labour vote.
"We've come second in a constituency where we've never even come close, and we've shown that the vote is there for Labour as well.
"There is more for us to do in the coming months and year, so we'll keep up that work."
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