Cheshire East has one of the lowest prevalences of gay, lesbian and bisexual people in the north west.

New Census 2021 data suggest there are 2.46% of people aged 16 years and over in Cheshire East describe their sexual orientation as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or other (LGBO).

Numbers are marginally higher in Cheshire West and Chester with 2.81% self-describing themselves that way, and elsewhere in Cheshire 2.52% of people 16 or over describe themselves as such.

6.67% of people in Manchester describe themselves as LGBO, which is the most in the north west and one of the highest in the UK.

Despite having a significantly lower population, bordering areas such as High Peak (2.83) and Newcastle-under-Lyme (2.98) have a higher proportion than Cheshire East.

The only bordering area which has less lesbian, gay or bisexual people than Cheshire East are Staffordshire Moorlands (1.77), which includes towns like Leek and Biddulph.

Please note: This question was voluntary and not mandatory, so the number may be higher than suggested.

But this is the first time we know about local and national figures for sexual orientation.

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91.48% of people aged 16 and over in Cheshire East identified their sexuality as straight or heterosexual.

6.06% in Cheshire East did not give an answer to the sexuality survey.

Almost two million people in England and Wales identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual, representing 2.8% per cent of the population.

Macclesfield Pride responded to a Macclesfield Nub News request for comment.

Macclesfield Pride Trustee Caro Brown said: "From our perspective it is heartening that so many LGBO people feel comfortable to state their sexuality, even if only anonymously."

"The figures for Cheshire East, giving a percentage of 2.46% of people identifying as LGBO compared to the national average of 2.8%, show that our population is pretty representative of the country as a whole.

"In real terms, that means that there are likely to be over 1,400 people in Macclesfield (population c 58,000) and more than 9,300 within the Borough overall (population c 380,000) who identify as LGBO, so a sizeable community and one that we are proud to support."

More analysis on the Census in the local area can be found here and here.

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