Election outcome could be settled by our votes

Local government editor DANIEL WAINWRIGHT explains why the West Midlands is so vital in the election

One of the main battles for Number 10 will be fought here in the West Midlands, the best part of 150 miles away from Westminster.

Some of the vital marginal seats which the Tories have to win if David Cameron is going to raise his new baby and young family in Downing Street are in the Black Country.

Voters will want assurances on the economy, on how their jobs will be protected and what can be done to revive Black Country manufacturing.

Out in the suburban areas of South Staffordshire and Halesowen will be people wanting to protect the green belt from development.

The region's clogged motorways, currently undergoing work to open up the hard shoulder, will be an issue as will both the Tories' and Labour's promise to bring high speed rail to Birmingham, whichever of them wins on polling day.

Chief among the Tories' targets is Stourbridge, and with Labour's Lynda Waltho on a majority of just 407 at the last election, Tory Margot James is right on her tail.

The Conservative party vice chairman with responsibility for women knows that a victory will form the foundation of Mr Cameron's attempt to form a majority government.QuestionsThe importance of the seat was proved when all three party leaders came to Stourbridge to take questions from the public on national television.

The Tories are also after Wolverhampton South West, where the solicitor Rob Marris has been representing people in the House of Commons since 2001.

The seat fell to Labour in 1997 when it was won from Nicholas Budgen by Jenny Jones.

Quite apart from its tarnished history as the constituency of Enoch Powell – he of the infamous "Rivers of Blood" speech – winning it back in 2010 would show that the surge of middle class support Labour received with a young and energetic Tony Blair has gone.

Of course Mr Marris must not be underestimated. He surprised everyone by hanging on in 2005 without much of a drop in his majority. Support for the Tories, despite the constituency including well-to-do areas like Penn and Tettenhall, diminished with the Liberal Democrats making up some of the lost ground.

These two constituencies form part of what the Tories have called their "golden triangle", which runs north from Worcester to Yorkshire.

Party chairman Eric Pickles believes that by targetting this area, the Conservatives will prove they are not too posh for the working-class communities of middle England.

There's also the symbolic victory the Tories would have in taking Stafford from Labour's David Kidney.CameronHe won the seat in 1997 against a young David Cameron who was hoping to get his first constituency

.Mr Kidney is already using the Tory leader's earlier failure to show that Gordon Brown can still win, with his personal biography on his website reading: "David's Tory opponent in 1997 was none other than the current Conservative leader, David Cameron, (so perhaps Gordon should take some tips from David!)".

This region has a large number of MPs standing down meaning plenty of new faces hitting the campaign trail to win favour.

Long serving MPs like Sir Patrick Cormack in South Staffordshire and Bruce George in Walsall South are retiring along with Ken Purchase in Wolverhampton North East and Sylvia Heal in Halesowen and Rowley Regis.Also stepping down are Dudley South's Ian Pearson, Tony Wright in Cannock Chase, Clare Short in Ladywood and Sion Simon in Erdington.

This then is the chance for the parties to play up their candidates' individual strengths and for the other candidates, who would have faced an uphill struggle against an experienced MP, to level the playing field.