ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog

Snapshots of the fourth week of the campaign from ConservativeHome's panel of candidates - Part one

Here are the latest despatches from the first three of our panel of candidates, giving their takes on how the fourth week of the campaign has gone. More to follow later in the day...

Hannah Foster - Exeter
Another good week in Exeter. Still no big move to the Lib Dems on the doorstep and generally more firming up of pledges.

On Wednesday evening we had the best canvass of the campaign. 25 people on the doorstep in three teams in three very different areas. We knocked on over 1,000 doors and spoke to around 600 people – and it felt good. We followed it we with a new Exeter tradition, campaign curry at the ironically named Red Rose!

Wednesday also saw Eric Pickles paying us a visit in the battlebus (well, battle-van to be precise). We got a spot in Bedford Square, right in the city centre. Lots of people wanting to talk to us – all good.

We spent yesterday with our last big canvass before rolling over for polling day and only got soaked once!   As we go into the final straight we are more optimistic than four weeks ago and ready for the finish line.

Stuart Andrew - Pudsey
We started off our week with a visit by London Mayor, Boris Johnson, in the centre of Leeds and he certainly drew in the crowds. So many people wanted a picture with him and the expressions of good wishes was most encouraging.

It is clear that as we get closer to the election, the many people who were undecided at the start of the campaign, have started to make up their minds. I am particularly struck by the amount of times I hear "it definitely won't be Labour". Let us hope that is true!

Despite this, the Labour Party continues to fight a very negative campaign based on frightening some of the most vulnerable people in our constituency into voting for them. They continue to say we will scrap the bus passes for pensioners, prevent cancer patients from seeing specialists within two weeks, tell young families we will scrap Sure Start centres and now the unions are telling PCSOs they are under thereat if we win. Desperate tactics by a desperate party.

We continue to fight a positive campiagn on the issues that matter and only yesterday I lost count of the number of lifelong Labour voters who went out of their way to tell me: "No more, we want change and you've got our vote". I am keeping everything crossed.

Lee Martin - Sunderland Central
In my campaign diary for last week I said that the scale of the postal vote – 40 per cent of Sunderland voters have postal votes – meant that Saturday 24th was effectively our election day. So you’d forgive my campaign team for thinking they’d be able to ease up a little. Not a bit of it. The postal votes might have arrived but there are thousands of people yet to make up their minds.

Here are the latest despatches from the first three of our panel of candidates, giving their takes on how the fourth week of the campaign has gone. More to follow later in the day...

Hannah Foster - Exeter
Another good week in Exeter. Still no big move to the Lib Dems on the doorstep and generally more firming up of pledges.

On Wednesday evening we had the best canvass of the campaign. 25 people on the doorstep in three teams in three very different areas. We knocked on over 1,000 doors and spoke to around 600 people – and it felt good. We followed it we with a new Exeter tradition, campaign curry at the ironically named Red Rose!

Wednesday also saw Eric Pickles paying us a visit in the battlebus (well, battle-van to be precise). We got a spot in Bedford Square, right in the city centre. Lots of people wanting to talk to us – all good.

We spent yesterday with our last big canvass before rolling over for polling day and only got soaked once!   As we go into the final straight we are more optimistic than four weeks ago and ready for the finish line.

Snapshots of the third week of the campaign from ConservativeHome's panel of candidates - Part one

Here are the latest despatches from our panel of candidates, giving their takes on how the third week of the campaign had gone. Reports from Hannah Foster, Lee Martin and Philippa Stroud will follow later...

John Lamont - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
It has been another hectic week on the campaign. There is still no sign of any "Clegg bounce" in the Borders which must be odd if we are to believe the opinion polls. Indeed, many voters are expressing concerns about the possibility of a hung Parliament and the Lib Dems putting Labour back into power. A vote changer for many.

The Lib Dems continue to fight dirty - damaging posters and putting out untruths about Conservative policies. They must be worried!

On Monday, we hosted the launch of the Scottish Conservative manifesto in Melrose. I was delighted to welcome David Cameron via DVD (thanks to the ash cloud!), Annabel Goldie MSP and David Mundell, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland. There was a great crowd to welcome them and to see the manifesto launch. Again, there was a tremendous response on the street.

More of the same for the coming week with a special surprise on Tuesday (perhaps!)... 

John is the current subject of our Yellow to Blue fundraising effort to help Tory candidates seeking to oust Lib Dem MPs. Click here to donate what you can!

Stuart Andrew - Pudsey
A very varied week this time starting off with a visit by Michael Gove. We met with media students at the Trinity University College in Horsforth where a number of searching and challenging questions were raised. The following day it was the turn of shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley who met local GPs and then helped out the Guiseley in Bloom volunteers as part the national Social Action day.

It has also been an interesting week with the media as the Pudsey constituency has been the focus of the BBC local Look North programme all week. It started with a "day in the life of a candidate", followed by speed dating with floating voters and a "Political Mastermind" - which I am pleased to report I won!

The real battle though is still wide open: our canvassing shows that there is a lot of support for us but that many have yet to make their minds up. The leadership debate was good for David Cameron with a number of people commenting on their approval of his performance, but it all highlights that the race in Pudsey is going to be very interesting indeed!

Louise Bagshawe - Corby
The strangest week yet in the campaign: Starts with a guy in a fox suit, ends with an Elvis impersonator.

Here are the latest despatches from our panel of candidates, giving their takes on how the third week of the campaign had gone. Reports from Hannah Foster, Lee Martin and Philippa Stroud will follow later...

John Lamont - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
It has been another hectic week on the campaign. There is still no sign of any "Clegg bounce" in the Borders which must be odd if we are to believe the opinion polls. Indeed, many voters are expressing concerns about the possibility of a hung Parliament and the Lib Dems putting Labour back into power. A vote changer for many.

The Lib Dems continue to fight dirty - damaging posters and putting out untruths about Conservative policies. They must be worried!

On Monday, we hosted the launch of the Scottish Conservative manifesto in Melrose. I was delighted to welcome David Cameron via DVD (thanks to the ash cloud!), Annabel Goldie MSP and David Mundell, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland. There was a great crowd to welcome them and to see the manifesto launch. Again, there was a tremendous response on the street.

More of the same for the coming week with a special surprise on Tuesday (perhaps!)... 

John is the current subject of our Yellow to Blue fundraising effort to help Tory candidates seeking to oust Lib Dem MPs. Click here to donate what you can!

Snapshots of the second week of the campaign from ConservativeHome's panel of candidates - Part two

This morning we published the latest three reports from our panel of candidates on how the second week of the campaign had gone. Here are the other three...

John Lamont - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
The campaign continues to go well, despite the volcanic ash cloud preventing Ken Clarke from getting to Hawick!

I'm not sure what it is, but this campaign feels very different to any other that I have been involved in during the last 15 years. Perhaps it is the huge number of people who are volunteering to help, or maybe it is the massive demand for field posters and window posters, or it could be the positive response on the doorsteps. I'm not sure but something is different and it feels exciting.

The opposition is clearly worried about what is happening and is putting in huge resources to defend what was once one of their safest seats. The Lib Dems clearly still have a lot of money to spend and much of it seems to be coming into their campaign in the Borders. However, I'm not sure that their money will be able to stop people voting for the change that our country needs. Voters are fearful that the Lib Dems will put Gordon Brown back into Downing Street. I believe that they understand that they need to vote Conservative to bring about the real change that our country needs.

Stuart Andrew - Pudsey
Another busy week in Pudsey started with a visit by Theresa Villiers. We used the visit to meet local residents who highlighted to her the major congestion issues we face locally with all the new developments and the expansion of the airport. It is clear that people feel a real sense of frustration at the total lack of control they have to deal with issues in their area and the localism agenda is one that is resonating well here.

Out on the doorstep and there are a wide variety of reactions. Lots wanted to talk about the Leadership debate with many commenting that they felt David Cameron had done better than the media might suggest. However, the economy remains the main issue by far with voters.

The media interest in the seat is clearly increasing with Channel 4 appearing over the weekend and the local BBC have challenged me and my opponents to prove how much we know about the constituency with a Mastermind style quiz... watch this space to find out who came out on top! They have also followed us around for a "day in the life of a campaign" which I think surprised them by the sheer amount of work involved.

Louise Bagshawe - Corby
Another incredibly busy week. Took Charles Hendry, the Shadow Energy Minister who is seeking re-election as MP for Wealden (where I grew up), along with Brian Binley, to an innovative waste-to-energy plant at Orchard Foods in Corby. It uses a proprietary technique that cleans water and throws off energy far faster than normal methods. Groundbreaking technology tried for the first time in our patch. Then an interview with Anglia TV back at the office. Lots of media bids, we are sticking to local TV and press for the most part. Turned down Channel Four and the Sunday Express to complaints from the latter that I am "hiding away".

This morning we published the latest three reports from our panel of candidates on how the second week of the campaign had gone. Here are the other three...

John Lamont - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
The campaign continues to go well, despite the volcanic ash cloud preventing Ken Clarke from getting to Hawick!

I'm not sure what it is, but this campaign feels very different to any other that I have been involved in during the last 15 years. Perhaps it is the huge number of people who are volunteering to help, or maybe it is the massive demand for field posters and window posters, or it could be the positive response on the doorsteps. I'm not sure but something is different and it feels exciting.

The opposition is clearly worried about what is happening and is putting in huge resources to defend what was once one of their safest seats. The Lib Dems clearly still have a lot of money to spend and much of it seems to be coming into their campaign in the Borders. However, I'm not sure that their money will be able to stop people voting for the change that our country needs. Voters are fearful that the Lib Dems will put Gordon Brown back into Downing Street. I believe that they understand that they need to vote Conservative to bring about the real change that our country needs.

Stuart Andrew - Pudsey
Another busy week in Pudsey started with a visit by Theresa Villiers. We used the visit to meet local residents who highlighted to her the major congestion issues we face locally with all the new developments and the expansion of the airport. It is clear that people feel a real sense of frustration at the total lack of control they have to deal with issues in their area and the localism agenda is one that is resonating well here.

Out on the doorstep and there are a wide variety of reactions. Lots wanted to talk about the Leadership debate with many commenting that they felt David Cameron had done better than the media might suggest. However, the economy remains the main issue by far with voters.

The media interest in the seat is clearly increasing with Channel 4 appearing over the weekend and the local BBC have challenged me and my opponents to prove how much we know about the constituency with a Mastermind style quiz... watch this space to find out who came out on top! They have also followed us around for a "day in the life of a campaign" which I think surprised them by the sheer amount of work involved.

Louise Bagshawe - Corby
Another incredibly busy week. Took Charles Hendry, the Shadow Energy Minister who is seeking re-election as MP for Wealden (where I grew up), along with Brian Binley, to an innovative waste-to-energy plant at Orchard Foods in Corby. It uses a proprietary technique that cleans water and throws off energy far faster than normal methods. Groundbreaking technology tried for the first time in our patch. Then an interview with Anglia TV back at the office. Lots of media bids, we are sticking to local TV and press for the most part. Turned down Channel Four and the Sunday Express to complaints from the latter that I am "hiding away".

Snapshots of the first week of the campaign from ConservativeHome's panel of candidates - Part two

This morning we published the first three reports from our panel of candidates on how the first week of the campaign had gone. Here are the other three...

John Lamont - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
After months of preparation, we have finally started! As ever, the planning paid off. We delivered 30,000 leaflets in the first 72 hours of the campaign. We had Liam Fox out on the doorsteps in Galashiels on Tuesday night, the Scottish Conservative Blue Bus visited many Borders towns on Wednesday and on Thursday we had a visit from William Hague and Scottish Conservative leader, Annabel Goldie MSP. A great start.

On the doorsteps, the state of the economy and the size of the national debt were the main issues. All of the canvassing teams were reporting switchers from the Lib Dems to Conservative. The choice for Lib Dem voters is clear - it is either a continuation of Gordon Brown's administration or a fresh start with David Cameron and the Conservatives. So far, we seem to be winning that war. Interestingly, we also seem to be picking up voters who had gone SNP in the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections. It is very clear that the anti-Labour voters do understand that only the Conservatives can beat Labour.

On Saturday, we manned several street stalls across the constituency and the response was tremendous. The consensus seems to be that we have won the first week of the campaign. The backing of the business leaders has given us extra credibility at this important stage of the campaign.

Louise Bagshawe - Corby
I've always rolled my eyes when confronted on a blog with the "I'm a lifelong X voter who has now turned to Y", as it's almost inevitably some sad activist for Y, but this first week, campaigning on the NHS in Irthlingborough, I actually met a union member who said he'd always voted Labour - hated Maggie and what she did to the unions - but could not stomach Brown and this government. He didn't promise me his vote but he said he was considering it for the first time ever. I invited him to the public meeting we're holding in the town. If people like him are actively weighing up the Conservatives, I think we'll outperform the polls.

The fight for the Yorkshire marginals

Earlier in the week I wrote about how the party is targeting seats in the South West of England.

Today, the Yorkshire Post focuses on the battleground constituencies falling within its jurisdiction, most of which fall within West Yorkshire. The party currently holds just one seat in that county - Shipley, gained by Philip Davies in 2005.

And of the target seats which would deliver a Tory majority of the Commons of around 40, all but three of the thirteen constituencies in the Yorkshire and the Humber Region are in West Yorkshire:

3. York Outer
21. Colne Valley
24. Calder Valley
58. Cleethorpes
69. Brigg and Goole
76. Bradford West
80. Halifax
82. Dewsbury
95. Leeds North West
100. Keighley
107. Elmet and Rothwell
111. Pudsey
133. Batley and Spen

(NB Figures based on notional results calculated by Professors Rallings and Thrasher of the University of Plymouth and including some newly-created seats)

The Yorkshire Post contrasts how the parties are funding their campaigns in these crucial seats:

Stuart Andrew selected for Pudsey

Openly gay Leeds councillor Stuart Andrew has been selected by open primary for the Labour-held seat of Pudsey.  Cllr Andrew beat another local, non A-lister Jason McCartney at a meeting attended by a little over 100 people - half of which are reported to be non-members.  Cllr Andrew, a fundraiser for a children's hospice, will need to overturn Paul Truswell's 4,751 projected majority at the next election.