Chester Zoo became the proverbial last chance saloon for the Prime Minister as he paid a visit to its new £40m Islands attraction on the final day of campaigning in one of the tightest and most unpredictable general elections in years.

Party leaders spent yesterday (Wednesday, May 6) on marathon whistle-stop tours of the UK in a final push to win support and the marginal seat of Chester was deemed worthy for a visit by David Cameron and his battle bus.

Mr Cameron, along with the city’s sitting MP and fellow Conservative Stephen Mosley, was given a tour of the biggest development in the history of UK zoos by Chester Zoo’s director general Dr Mark Pilgrim and managing director Jamie Christon.

A 'fantastic project'

The Conservative Party leader was full of praise for the ‘fantastic project’ and revealed he was ‘very excited’ to see Islands’ Sumatran tigers after it opens on July 13.

He said: “I’ve really been blown away by its scale, by its ambition and because it combines the best of a British zoo with education about conservation and the importance of halting the loss of species and wildlife, not just in our country but in our world.”

The PM explained that he had chosen to visit Chester on the final day of the election campaign because ‘Stephen Mosley has been an absolutely excellent MP and I want him to stay’.

He rejected the idea that the Tory campaign had been negative, citing their ‘very positive’ manifesto pledges to cut taxes, build homes for young people and to provide 30 hours of childcare for young mothers who want to go back to work.

Asked what can be done for tourism in Chester, he said: “The Government can keep investing in the ‘GREAT Britain’ campaign, the holiday at home campaign which is out at the moment, and we can say, for instance, to Chinese visitors spend four nights outside London, come to places like Chester and we’ll cut the cost of your visa.

“At the heart of a successful tourism industry must be a successful and strong economy.”

Although the latest polls point to a hung parliament, Mr Cameron is still hopeful of achieving a majority.

He said: “I’m fighting for an outright majority – we have got to hold seats like this one and win another 23.

“And that means that we can go on building a strong country with more jobs and more livelihoods.”