The race for Number 10 - How the West Midlands is pivotal in 2015

For David Cameron it probably is. After all, he's seeking the Tory majority that eluded him the last time around and forced him to team up with Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats.

But it is certainly going to be a close one where every vote will matter.

There's barely anything between the Tories and Labour and neither of them are currently attracting enough support to win a majority in Parliament and govern without teaming up with one or more of the smaller parties - be it what's left of the Lib Dems or with either UKIP or the Scottish National Party, which is on course to take dozens of seats north of the border from Labour.

For any party to build its power base and a shot at governing the country, they will need to win some of the key marginal seats of the West Midlands.

This is an area that was pivotal in 2010, with many Labour seats changing hands to the Tories. If David Cameron is to have a hope of staying in Number 10, he needs not only to hold on to these seats but win more.

All the party leaders know this. Barely a month goes by without a visit by some high-ranking front bencher, be it the Prime Minister himself coming to see Jaguar Land Rover's new factory in Wolverhampton, Ed Miliband touring Dudley College or George Osborne announcing the go-ahead of a new super hospital in Smethwick, while at another hospital in marginal, Tory-held Halesowen.

That challenge is made all the more tough because Labour is back on the rise in the Black Country, now in control of all four borough councils compared with just one in 2010. And UKIP is breathing down both parties' necks.

The biggest three-way battleground in the Black Country is likely to be in Dudley North.

Labour's Ian Austin held the seat in 2010 with a majority of 649 votes after a recount.

His was the only one of four constituencies in the Dudley borough to stay with Labour. A poll by the Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft showed recently that Labour looked likely to hold Dudley North again, were there a General Election now.

But the main competition is coming from UKIP in the form of MEP and councillor Bill Etheridge. Conservative candidate Afzal Amin is polling in third place.

Mr Austin said: "It's encouraging but the only poll that matters is next May."

The neighbouring Tory MP Chris Kelly, representing Dudley South, is going to stand down after a single term. The Conservatives hope to hold the seat with local councillor Mike Wood. But he will have to defend a majority of 3,856 votes. It sounds strong but it's less than the 4,244 vote Labour majority Mr Kelly overturned in 2010. And Mr Wood has to contend with Labour's Natasha Millward, who has been on the campaign trail for more than a year.

Halesowen and Rowley Regis, held by Conservative James Morris, has another slender majority. Stourbridge's Conservative Margot James has a 5,164 vote majority but will have to go up against Pete Lowe, who recently got a huge boost to his profile by becoming leader of Dudley Council.

Wolverhampton South West made history in 2010 when Paul Uppal became the first British Asian MP to represent Enoch Powell's old constituency. But his Conservative majority is a slender 691. Mr Uppal enjoys reminding those sceptical about his chances that it's the same majority Powell won in his first election in 1950 before going on to win seven more. The Labour MP he defeated in 2010, Rob Marris, has been chosen to try to win it back.

Cannock Chase gifted the Tories their biggest swing from Labour anywhere in the country in 2010 when Aidan Burley overturned a 9,227 vote majority and took the seat with 3,195 votes to spare.

But he was heavily criticised for going to a stag party in 2011 in France where the groom wore a Nazi uniform. He decided last year he would not stand again so the Tories have picked businesswoman Amanda Milling to go up against Labour's Janos Toth and UKIP's Graham Wiggin.

The Tories have taken a battering in recent local elections and in Cannock Chase are now in third place, behind UKIP.

In Walsall the Labour party has taken back control of the council which stands it in good stead for holding on to Walsall South and Walsall North. Although the Conservatives are making their presence felt with a high profile candidate in Walsall North in the form of Douglas Hansen-Luke, who wants to unseat the long-serving Labour MP David Winnick. With a majority of 990 it is not impossible. But it is certainly not the easy win of neighbouring Aldridge-Brownhills, the safe Tory seat being vacated by Sir Richard Shepherd. The Tories have had their own internal rows over it and for good reason. With a majority of 15,256 whoever gets chosen has a very comfortable lead to defend.

Stafford will be another swing seat to keep an eye on. While Conservative Jeremy Lefroy has a workable 5,460 majority, the ongoing row over the downgrade of Stafford Hospital does not bode well for either the Conservatives or Labour, under whose watch the initial scandal happened.

The town is one of the seats being contested by the National Health Action Party, which is led by former Wyre Forest MP Dr Richard Taylor. If it taps in to the anger and frustration felt over the fate of the hospital, it might well have an impact on the result.

Wolverhampton has seats held by two prominent members of Ed Miliband's shadow ministerial team. Wolverhampton North East's Emma Reynolds oversees housing and Wolverhampton South East's Pat McFadden speaks for the party on Europe. Expect both to be in high profile roles should Mr Miliband win power. Of course they have to hold on to their seats first.