BALLOT: Worcester will play key role in general election campaign

After a brief meeting with his cabinet yesterday morning, Prime Minister Gordon Brown travelled to Buckingham Palace, London, to ask the Queen to dissolve Parliament. By agreeing she started what is set to be the hardest-fought campaign for many years.

Mr Brown’s official announcement on the steps of 10 Downing Street ended months of mounting speculation that the country will go to the polls on Thursday, May 6 – the day the local council elections in Worcester will also take place. There are no council elections in Malvern Hills and Wychavon this time around.

Experts place Worcester as target number 59 on the Conservative’s wish-list to win the election, making it a key battleground.

Nominations do not close until Tuesday, April 20, but so far eight people have declared they will stand in Worcester.

Mike Foster, Labour, who has been Worcester’s MP since 1997 and holds a slim majority of 3,144, said this will be the “most important election for a generation” and predicted a straight fight between his party and the Conservatives.

He said: “Whoever wins in Worcester will probably end up forming the next Government – that is what makes the Worcester seat so fascinating to outsiders.”

An “excited” Robin Walker, the city’s Conservative candidate, was out talking to shoppers on Worcester’s High Street yesterday lunchtime before he went canvassing.

He said: "Living in one of the crucial marginals that will really decide the outcome of the election, Worcester people really do have the power to decide.”

Jackie Alderson, Liberal Democrat, said: “After so much expectation, for it to finally be here is tremendously exciting.”

Polls have shown the gap between opposition Conservatives and ruling Labour narrow in recent weeks leading many political commentators to suggest the country could get a hung parliament for the first time in 36 years.

A hung parliament is one in which no one political party holds an outright majority of seats. Ms Alderson said she thought that a coalition government, similar to ones in Scotland and Wales, could work well in England.

Louis Stephen, Green Party, was relieved the election had finally been called.

“Our main thing is to make sure people are discussing the policies rather than personalities,” he said.

“We want to see more positive campaigning talking about the issues and by doing that people start to give us more credence.”

Andrew Christian-Brookes, an independent candidate for Worcester, said: “What’s really exciting about this election is that, from my point of view, there’s a chance to actually win.

“It would have been ludicrous to have thought that in the past but I think Worcester woman wants to use her vote differently to how she has done and I don’t think the three main parties are going to be as successful as they think they are.”

Andrew Robinson, Pirate Party, said while he thought he had “no chance” of winning he would be trying to raise the profile of his party over the next 29 days.

Neither Jack Bennett, UKIP, or Peter Nielsen, another independent candidate, were available for comment.

Elsewhere in Worcestershire, Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff, Conservative, will be defending a 12,791 majority from Robin Lunn, Labour; Margaret Rowley, Liberal Democrat; Gordon Matthews, Green Party; John White, UKIP.

West Worcestershire MP Sir Michael Spicer, Conservative, is retiring leaving a 3,594 majority for Tory candidate Harriett Baldwin to defend against Richard Burt, Liberal Democrat; Malcolm Victory, Green Party; Caroline Bovey, UKIP; and Fred Bishop, English Democrats.

Wyre Forest MP Dr Richard Taylor, Independent, who holds a 4,574 majority, will be challenged by Mark Garnier, Conservative; Nigel Knowles, Labour; Neville Farmer, Liberal Democrat; Kate Spohrer, Green Party.