Wolverhampton South East General Election profile: Education priority in Labour stronghold

But unlike the other two in the city, it has only ever been won by Labour.

The Black Country town of Bilston is at the heart of the seat which also covers Blakenhall, East Park, Ettingshall, Spring Vale, and part of Coseley from the neighbouring Dudley Metropolitan Borough.

The constituency is one of the most economically deprived in the country, figures from the Office of National Statistics show.

As of March, 2,655 people were claiming jobless benefits – 4.7 per cent, which is more than twice the national average of just two per cent. Youth unemployment is high with more than seven per cent of 18-24 year olds on the dole.

And the average weekly wage is £431 – more than £100 less than the national average of £541.

Education, jobs, and housing are major issues for residents here.

The constituency has a tradition of having long-standing MPs.

Robert Edwards served as the Labour MP from 1974 until 1987 but had severed the former Bilston constituency since 1955.

Dennis Turner, who later became a peer and known as Lord Bilston, held the seat from 1987 to 2005.

Pat McFadden has been the MP since then and is hoping the retain the seat.

He currently has a majority of 10,767 having increased his share of the vote to 53.3 per cent in 2015.

Born in Scotland to Irish parents, he was an advisor to Tony Blair before becoming the Prime Minister’s Political Secretary from 2002.

He was a Government minister under Gordon Brown. He was a leading campaigner for Britain to remain in the European Union.

There was a large vote to leave the EU in Wolverhampton in the referendum with 62.6 per cent of people backing Brexit.

• Mr McFadden is standing again for Labour.

• The Conservatives came second two years ago with 22.3 per cent of the vote. The candidate this time is Kieran Mullan who is a junior A&E doctor who contested the Birmingham Hodge Hill in the 2015 General Election. He campaigned for Britain to leave the EU.

• UKIP came a close third with 20.3 per cent of the vote in 2015. The same candidate, Barry Hodgson, is running again.

• Rail worker Ben Mathis is the Liberal Democrat candidate. He grew up in Walsall and his parents live in the Wolverhampton South East constituency in Coseley. He is campaigning on reducing air pollution.

• The Green Party has put forward Amy Bertaut as its candidate. She is a mother of two and the children’s festival director at Shrewsbury Folk Festival.

Best odds: Lab 1/40, Cons, 11/1, Lib Dem 100/1, UKIP 200/1, Green 500/1

Prediction: Labour hold with reduced majority

Under normal circumstances you would struggle to find a seat in Britain which is more likely to return a Labour MP.

This is Labour ‘heartland’ and the seat has only ever been won by the party.

But it will be interesting to see whether the fact that Pat McFadden playing a leading role in the Remain campaign will have any major impact in what was resolutely Leave territory at the referendum.

He is undoubtedly aware of the potential to lose votes over that particular issue, and has been at great pains to point out that although he wanted Britain to stay in the EU, the views of the people of Wolverhampton South East are his priority.

UKIP was strong performers last time out – just missing out on second place but winning a fifth of the vote.

However, with the referendum result it is difficult to see the party having the same success again.

As is the case with many other areas of the country, the UKIP vote is widely expected to collapse here at next month’s poll.

The Tories will hope to win over most of the UKIP vote but it is unlikely to be enough to overhaul Mr McFadden’s 10,000-strong majority.

Labour will be watching seats like Wolverhampton South East closely to gauge the strength of its core vote.

Losing in this constituency would be an unmitigated disaster for the party.

Mr McFadden should not be in any trouble, but it is possible that come the early hours of June 9 that he is the only Labour MP in the city of Wolverhampton.