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Steve Coogan left his comic creation Alan Partridge behind when he backed Chester Labour parliamentary candidate Chris Matheson saying Alan was a ‘bit of an idiot’ who would probably vote for another party.

Steve had a brief tour around Chester’s new Storyhouse cultural centre before addressing a rally in Town Hall Square where he urged everyone to vote Labour.

The famous Mancunian told the crowd: “It’s a very slim majority here but I think everyone can judge on the best record and Chris has proved his mettle and needs to be re-elected. Complacency, we can’t have any truck with it, people have to get out and vote on polling day.

“It’s so important, especially as we’ve seen in the last few weeks how the polls have been closing despite the best efforts of a right wing media to try and demonise Jeremy Corbyn and to elevate, what’s her name?, the Prime Minister, Theresa May. She’s very forgettable, I find.”

Slamming Tory candidate Will Gallagher, he added: “That’s the Tories for you. Their priorities will never be for decent working people because the people that write the cheques for the Tories and this Gallagher fella who’s been shipped up here from nowhere.

“He says he’ll move up here if he gets elected. I’ll believe that when I see it.

"The Conservatives, when they campaign, the people who write the cheques for their campaign are big business so if they get elected their priority is not going to be ordinary working people, it’s going to be the people who are their paymasters. They will never change.”

Talking about Chester’s new Storyhouse cultural centre, he told those gathered: “I want to live there. What a fantastic asset for this town that is. Heart warming to see it being used by lots of young children and adults alike, the idea of bringing the arts to the people, a fantastic achievement.”

Speaking to The Chronicle afterwards, Coogan was unwilling to go into character as his alter ego Alan Partridge but criticised the character’s flaws.

”I can’t talk as Alan Partridge. Alan Partridge is not here. But I know that Alan Partridge, being a bit of an idiot, probably wouldn’t support the Labour Party. Alan is a xenophobic little Englander, as such he’s not sympathetic to people who are on the side of ordinary decent working people. Alan is probably the sort of person who would support fox hunting which is why he is so unsuccessful in his career.”

Labour candidate Chris Matheson, who aims to be re-elected at the city’s MP, thanked the TV star for coming and backed his campaign to rein in the national press on behalf of ordinary people after Coogan experienced what it’s like to have his phone hacked.

Mr Matheson continued: “We are now faced with a choice; a Conservative government that will be strong when they’re standing up against the weak but weak when they’re standing against the strong.”