Tom Palmer: Hope and hatred as opponents struggle to seize the heartland

The crucial battlegrounds of Wakefield, Dewsbury and Batley and Spen

are traditional Labour strongholds.

It has held Wakefield since 1931, Dewsbury has only had two Conservative MPs in 142 years while Batley and Spen switched from Tory to Labour in 1997.

Throughout the campaign, the political leaders have each claimed to be tackling the "big issues" but in Dewsbury the concerns over bankers' bonuses, classroom sizes or MPs' expenses are put firmly in perspective.

In the last five years, the town has hit the headlines as a home for terrorists, and for severe social deprivation and high-profile crimes.

In neighbouring Batley and Heckmondwike, similar issues are faced, with political extremists preying on fears about immigration.

The Tories claim their policy to cap immigration is being warmly received on the doorstep, but Labour have said it is unworkable and community leaders believe subtlety will have to be added to strength for the simmering racial tension to be resolved.

At the 2005 election, the British National Party achieved their highest percentage vote in the country in Dewsbury and the party came fourth, just one per cent behind the Liberal Democrats.

Two months later, Mohammed Siddique Khan, from the Thornhill area of the town, led a team of West Yorkshire suicide bombers to murder 52 people on London's transport network on July 7.

In August 2008, Hammaad Munshi, from the Savile Town district, became the youngest person in Britain to be convicted under the Terrorism Act. When he was just 15, he had joined a cell aiming to target the Royal Family.

Then, in January last year, Karen Matthews was sentenced to eight years for kidnapping her nine-year-old daughter Shannon. The family lived on the deprived Dewsbury Moor estate.

A shopkeeper on one of the town's most run-down council estates said gangs of teenagers roam the estates and extreme racist views are rife – exacerbated by deprived, segregated neighbourhoods.

Dan Hodges, spokesman for anti-racism campaigners Hope not Hate, said their work in the town had made inroads but admitted the problems run deep.

"The issues in Dewsbury are very clear, they are issues of housing, issues of unemployment and a depressed economy and of course there are the issues relating to the management of quite diverse communities," he said.

"There is obviously a requirement of education in both communities."

Racial tension is not just confined to Dewsbury – problems of integration are regularly raised on the doorstep in Batley and Spen.

The constituency is split between the deprived Batley estates and the middle class homes of the Spen Valley.

It includes the small town of Heckmondwike, considered a BNP stronghold although a community-led campaign at the 2008 council elections saw the sitting BNP councillor defeated.

Tory candidate Janice Small said: "It does not matter whether you speak to people from Asian areas or from the white estates, they want immigration under control. To get past the prejudice you have to bust the myths."

Labour's Mike Wood, who has held the seat since defeating Tory Elizabeth Peacock in 1997, believes the close election campaign will inspire Labour supporters to vote. He said: "Pensions, care of the elderly and immigration are now key themes."

In Wakefield, the battle is over regeneration and support for small businesses. The city centre follows a depressingly familiar pattern of

many in the UK – a shopping mall with the same high street brand names found in many other places, surrounded by streets with numerous boarded-up businesses, the scars of recession.

The history of the seat offers little hope for Tory candidate Alex Story. The last Conservative to represent the city was George Brown Hillman who won the election of 1931, but died in office the following year. He was replaced by one of the Labour Party's most prominent politicians, Arthur Greenwood, who held the seat for 22 years.

Mr Greenwood eventually became deputy leader of the party under Clement Attlee and when the wartime coalition government was formed, Winston Churchill appointed him to the War Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio in 1940.

There followed a succession of Labour MPs, continuing with Mary Creagh who was first elected in 2005. But, with a notional majority of just over 6,000 and a city centre struggling with the economic crisis, it is clear she has a fight on her hands to maintain the party's long history in Wakefield.

Batley and Spen

n Current MP: Mike Wood, Labour

n Notional majority: 6,060

n Last election: Swing 0.8% Cons to Lab

Confirmed candidates:

n Conservative – Janice Small

n Labour – Mike Wood

n Liberal Democrat – Neil Bentley

n BNP – David Exley

n Green – Matt Blakeley

Rating: Great night for the Tories if they win.

Dewsbury

n Current MP: Shahid Malik, Labour

n Notional majority: 3,999

n Last election: Swing 4.2% Lab to Cons

Confirmed candidates:

n Conservative – Simon Reevel

n Labour – Shahid Malik

n Liberal Democrat – Andrew Hutchinson

n BNP – Roger Roberts

n English Democrats – Michael Felse

n Green – Adrian Cruden

n Independent – Khizar Iqbal

Rating: Fierce battle.

Wakefield

n Current MP: Mary Creagh, Labour

n Notional majority: 7,349

n Last election: Swing 3.7% Lab to Cons

Confirmed candidates:

n Conservative – Alex Story

n Labour – Mary Creagh

n Liberal Democrat – David Smith

n BNP – Ian Senior

n Green – Miriam Hawkins

n Independent – Mark Harrop

Rating: Tories fighting hard.

A-Z of Yorkshire constituencies

Continuing our run-through of regional constituencies:

Leeds West

n Current MP: John Battle, Labour (standing down)

n Notional majority:

13,699

n Last election: Swing 6.9% Lab to Lib Dem

Confirmed candidates:

n Labour – Rachel Reeves

n Lib Dem – Ruth Coleman

n Conservative – Joe Marjoram

n BNP – Joanna Beverley

n Green – David Blackburn

n Ukip – Jeff Miles

Rating: Safe Labour.

Middlesbrough South and east Cleveland

n Current MP: Vacant – Ashok Kumar, Labour, died on March 15, 2010

n Notional majority: 8,096

n Last election: Swing 1.5% Lab to Con

Confirmed candidates:

n Labour – Tom Blenkinsop

n Lib Dem – Nick Emmerson

n Conservative – Paul Bristow

n BNP – Shaun Gatley

n Independent – Mike Allen

n Ukip – Stuart Lightwing

Rating: Tories claim it is now in their sights.

Normanton Pontefract and Castleford

n Current MP: Yvette Cooper, Labour

n Notional majority: 20,608

n Last election: Swing 2.9% Lab to Con

Confirmed candidates:

n Labour – Yvette Cooper

n Lib Dem – Chris Rush

n Conservative – Nick

Pickles

n BNP – Graham Thewlis-Hardy

n Independent – Gareth Allen

Rating: Safe Labour