Star comment: Candidates must work to woo us
With fewer than 30 days to go, both Labour and the Conservative campaigns are being ramped up in the Black Country.
Yesterday Brexit Secretary David Davis became the second Cabinet member to visit the Dudley North constituency since the snap election was called.
The other person who sits around the Cabinet table to come to these parts was, of course, the Prime Minister, who also visited Wolverhampton over the weekend.
It is a sign of how seriously the Tories believe they can win swathes of the Black Country, including seats they have never won before.
The West Midlands is always a bellwether region but at this election the Black Country in particular will be crucial for both main parties.
If Labour wants to prevent a Conservative landslide then it must win here.
The result of the West Midlands Mayor election last week certainly raises some interesting questions and will lead to local Labour party members worrying about how their vote will hold up.
Walsall and Dudley both turned blue in favour of Tory candidate Andy Street.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives were just 4,000 votes behind in Wolverhampton where normally Labour enjoys a much more comfortable majority.
Yesterday comedian Eddie Izzard was called upon to campaign alongside Labour's three candidates in the city.
Whether that will turn out for better or for worse remains to be seen.
Some commentators yesterday pointed to Mr Izzard's record of backing the losing side in nearly all major elections over the past decade.
While others said his presence will raise the profile of the election and the Labour cause in the city.
Though his lack of open support for Jeremy Corbyn speaks volumes about the state the party finds itself in.
One cannot help but feel for Emma Reynolds and Pat McFadden who have both been hard-working constituency MPs but now find themselves bereft of credible leadership at a national level to support their good work.
It may sound almost preposterous to suggest, but there are some people at the top of the Tory party who think the three seats in Wolverhampton could turn blue come the early hours of June 9.
And it is a similar story in Walsall and Dudley.
We expect to see more big hitters head to the Black Country and Staffordshire campaigning over the coming weeks.
No party can take votes for granted in this election and each candidate must work tirelessly for support here.
