Chester Labour MP Chris Matheson has two things in common with the UK’s Tory prime minister – and neither of them involve initiation ceremonies or pigs.
Chris and David may come from the opposite ends of the political spectrum but both have enjoyed electoral triumphs against the odds and some people claim they look alike.
Mr Matheson can’t see it himself and neither can his wife Kathy so he hasn’t dared risk trying to trick Tory MPs into following his more socialist agenda. And so far David hasn’t sneaked in to hijack his regular surgeries with constituents.
The Chester MP explained: “I get it quite regularly. I just can’t see it personally. It always starts ‘Has anyone ever told you?’ and you know exactly where it’s going.”
Having a doppelganger can be a ‘pain’ as Mr Matheson recently found out when he was approached by some young Cockney lads on bikes who gave him grief in a case of mistaken identity.
But commenting in a lighthearted way on his apparent similarity with his political foe, he quipped: “It makes me feel like he’s a very lucky man!”
Mr Matheson, who won his seat with a miniscule 93-vote majority on May 7, says he gets comments even when he isn’t dressed up as a suited politician wearing a rosette.
“I remember after the general election in 2010 a woman in Hoole said ‘Congratulations! Well, you have just won the election’. At first I had no idea what she was on about,” commented the MP, who admits he gets teased by his Labour colleagues.
And while Mr Cameron gained power against expectations, Mr Matheson concedes: “So did I. So there must be something there!”
Chester look-a-likes
Matheson and Cameron are not the only look-a-likes in the neighbourhood. Completely unprompted, one Chronicle reader pointed out the similarity between Cheshire West and Chester Council chief executive Steve Robinson and Timmy Mallett. One was a 1980s children’s TV star who used to bash kids over the head in the Mallet’s Mallet game while the other has responsibility for running a £700m per year organisation.
Tory councillor Brian Crowe (Saughall & Mollington) had his own 15 minutes of fame last week after his anti-European Union views were captured as part of a survey on BBC1’s The One Show. His appearance prompted comments about his resemblance to Yorkshire circketing legend Geoff Boycott although he also has a passing resemblance to the famous Italian football referee Pierluigi Collina.
“I have had people compare me to Geoff Boycott. I think it’s partly the way I speak,” added Cllr Crowe, who believes fellow farmer Ian Lloyd at Huxley is the double of Liverpool legend Kenny Daglish.
Judging by his council mugshot, another Conservative CWaC councillor, James Pearson (Davenham and Moulton) looks like a young Sky News and Egg Heads presenter Dermot Murnaghan although he says he would more usually be wearing glasses when he has been compared to fictional journalist Clark Kent.
“People have said I look like Clark Kent but there has been no reference to Superman! I have never stretched the point,” he joked.
He says former Cheshire East councillor David Topping “looks just like Father Ted”. “He’s a lovely guy,” added Cllr Pearson who, when aged just 27, was the youngest ever chairman of Greater Manchester Fire Authority where he served alongside Cllr Topping.
What do you think of the look-a-likes? What others have you spotted? Let us know in the comments below
