The affluent 'bubble' where the Conservatives could be in trouble

It's a sunny Friday afternoon and Altrincham is awash with prams and pooches.

Young professionals are rushing back from their lunch breaks to the office as dog walkers parade through the town centre. Hardly anyone seems to have time to talk about politics, not least young parents with toddlers in tow - or perhaps they just don't want to.

"I'm too busy with the new born right now," one young woman responds when asked for her thoughts on the upcoming election.

READ MORE: Former Greater Manchester MP Chris Clarkson stands in safe Tory seat 100 miles away

The Altrincham and Sale West constituency has been safe Tory territory for decades. But things are changing in these leafy suburbs.

"It's on the up isn't it?" says Bob Molloy, who lived in Hale Barns for '30-odd years' before moving away. "It's an affluent area," he adds.

"Early thirties and gorgeous dogs," is how Ruth Warren, 45, describes the shifting demographic. "It's quite metropolitan in that way."

Some say the recent influx of young families into the area - many of whom are attracted by Altrincham's top schools - could now hurt the Conservatives at the ballot box. In fact, it may have already have had an impact politically - at least, at the local council elections.

The Tories lost control of Trafford council in 2018 and now hold just eight seats at the town hall while Labour, the Lib Dems and the Greens gain ground. But even in the areas with a clean sweep of Conservative councillors still, some Tory voters have had enough.

It comes as Sir Graham Brady, who has been the MP for Altrincham and Sale West since 1997, steps down. The Tory grandee is known across the country for announcing the fate of Prime Ministers who come under pressure in his role as the 1992