Letter: Islington is ethnically diverse with a few good footballers

I READ with interest the claims that Islington reflects the new person. Without wanting to set up a wave of counter claims I reflect on how my own area fits just as nicely into the successor to Essex.

Chorlton, a small ward on the south side of Manchester with an electorate of 11,000, can match much that Islington appears to offer. Two bookshops, two art galleries and a ceramic studio nestle with the more conventional shops. Politically the ward has moved from a safe Tory seat to one that delivers record Labour majorities.

Over evening meals we discuss the same concerns as our London opposites. Moreover, the composition of the ward ranges from properties worth pounds 250,000 to multi-occupation and a council estate. We may not be able to offer the range of London celebrities but within the city there are many residents who contribute much to the cultural, social, political and educational life of Manchester.

So the conclusion? Outside the metropolis and the much pored-over Home Counties the country is indeed changing. Changing in a way that I suspect will re-enforce the popular belief that the current political ideology has had its day.

Andrew Simpson

Chorlton, Manchester