Tom Palmer: Quiet struggle for contenders on the waterfront

In Cleethorpes, there is barely a candidate's poster to be seen –visitors could be forgiven for thinking there is not an election happening at all.

In neighbouring Brigg and Goole, the Tories are doing their best to generate some excitement but are being hampered by a mystery thief

who has stolen more than 150 of their posters.

The two Humber seats, held by Labour since 1997, are seen as a crucial barometer in measuring how successful David Cameron has been in wooing working-class voters.

The party is helped by large areas of countryside populated with traditionally conservative villages and farm land. If Labour's stranglehold on the region is to be broken, the people of Goole, Cleethorpes and Immingham, and the workers at the Humber ports, need to be convinced.

It's up against a Labour Party that is pledging to cut the tolls on the Humber Bridge, but also promising to resolve the port rates problem after the Valuation Office Agency decided that it had undercharged firms and backdated rates to 2005.

The party also hopes to win more votes by championing the "green energy revolution" – not so much to appeal to environmentalists but those looking for work.

Jane Wood, the owner of the seafront Hawaiian Cafe, said local

companies are warming to the Tories' interest in the town and that it reminded her of the days when notorious MP Jeffrey Archer – who at the time represented the town as MP for Louth – brought his influence to the campaign trail in the late 1960s.

She said: "We have had a lot of the big hitters here – most recently William Hague – and there have been a few others as well."

Teachers Rebecca Waller, 29, Claire Skelton, 29 and Emma Spencer, 32, all live in the nearby village of Healing.

The three, who all have young children, feel burdened by the regulations at their schools.

Ms Waller said: "We are all undecided. As teachers it is very difficult, we are concerned about Tory proposals to cut public spending, but we are also fed up with all of the red tape and bureaucracy we are forced to go through by the Government."

Ian Cawsey has held the Brigg and Goole seat since 1997 but has seen his majority almost halved from more than 6,000 to just over 3,000 votes. He is confident that Labour's record in the region stands up to scrutiny.

"Wind farms are an issue, but it is not as simple as just whether people want them, there is the economic impact as well in the region, the steelworks already have contracts to build the columns for the turbines," he said.

The man who wants to take his seat, Tory candidate Andrew Percy, said national issues such as immigration are hot topics, but the main complaint was the Prime Minister.

He said the mystery poster thief must be very determined, given they have crossed fields and barbed wire fences to get to some of the campaign boards and a blitz in Goole saw 40 taken in a single night.

Brigg and Goole

n Current MP: Ian Cawsey, Labour

n Majority: Notional majority of 3,347

n Last election: Swing 1.5% Lab to Con

Confirmed candidates:

n Labour – Ian Cawsey

n Lib Dem – Richard Nixon

n Conservative – Andrew Percy

n BNP – Stephen Ward

n UKIP – Nigel Wright

Boundary changes: Very minor, loses part of Ridge ward to Scunthorpe.

Rating: Tory target

Cleethorpes

n Current MP: Shona McIsaac,

Labour

n Majority: 2,642

n Last election: Swing 3.6% Lab to Con

Confirmed candidates:

n Labour – Shona McIsaac

n Lib Dem – Malcolm Morland

n Conservative – Martin Vickers

n UKIP – Stephen Harness

Boundary changes: None

Rating: Tory target

A-Z of Yorkshire constituencies

Continuing our run-through of regional constituencies:

Hull West and Hessle

n Current MP: Alan Johnson, Labour

n Notional majority : 9,430

n Last election: Swing 4.7% Lab to Lib Dem

Confirmed candidates:

n Conservative – Gary Shores

n Labour – Alan Johnson

n Liberal Democrat – Mike Ross

n BNP – Edward Scott

n English Democrat – Peter Mawer

n Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition – Keith Gibson

n UKIP – Ken Hordon

Boundary changes: None

Rating: Safe Labour

The constituency:

n Includes communities devastated by the collapse of the fishing industry.

Leeds Central

n Current MP: Hilary Benn, Labour

n Notional majority: 12,916

n Last election: Swing 6.5% Lab to Lib Dem

Confirmed candidates:

n Labour – Hilary Benn

n Conservative – Alan Lamb

n Lib Dem – Michael Taylor

n BNP – Kevin Meeson

n Independent – We Beat The Scum One-Nil

n Independent – Dave Procter

Boundary changes: Numerous, with much of Middleton Park coming in from Morley and Rothwell, and the Halton Moor area of Temple Newsam moving to Leeds East.

Rating: Safe Labour

The constituency:

n Hilary Benn won the seat after the death of Derek Fatchett in 1999.

Leeds East

n Current MP: George Mudie, Labour

n Notional majority: 13,689

n Last election: Swing 5.5% Lab to Lib Dem

Confirmed candidates:

n Labour – George Mudie

n Lib Dem – Andrew Tear

n Conservative – Barry Anderson

n Alliance for Green Socialism – Michael Davies

n BNP – Trevor Brown

Boundary changes: Loses parts of Burmantofts and Chapel Allerton. Gains parts of Cross Gates and Whinmoor, Temple Newsam and Harehills.

Rating: Safe Labour

The constituency:

n The majority of the seat is made up of council estates to the east of Leeds.