After 14 years of Tory rule, is Manchester any Greater?

Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United were within touching distance of becoming the football champions of England for the nineteenth time when voters went to the polls 14 years ago in a general election that changed the course of British history.

At the time, Bolton's Peter Kay was in the middle of performing a world record-breaking 20 shows at what was known then as the M.E.N Arena. And Warehouse Project founder Sacha Lord was preparing to host the first ever Parklife music festival at Platt Fields Park.

But, by the time the final whistle was blown on the last day of the Premier League season, it was not just Fergie's dreams of four consecutive title wins that were dashed. His beloved Labour Party had lost too, ending 13 years of dominance in Westminster.

HAVE YOUR SAY: The Greater Manchester General Election 2024 Survey

On May 12, 2010, David Cameron and Nick Clegg stepped out into the Downing Street rose garden to give their first joint press conference. The previous day, the Conservatives and Lib Dems agreed a deal to form the first coalition government since 1945.

The Tories have now come first place four times in a row - as have Man City. But it's not just the Blues' fortunes that have changed.

Greater Manchester has changed in so many ways since 2010. The city's skyline, for one thing, has been totally transformed.

In recent years, the city-region's economy has grown faster than the rest of the UK's as our population approaches 3m. And, in many ways, the city has grown in confidence too, with one neighbourhood named among the 'coolest' in the world and its global reputation for arts and culture built on with Factory International's Aviva Studios and the Co-op Live arena both opening in the last year alone.

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