General Election 2015: Battle lines are drawn on estate

Against a backdrop of boarded-up flats above the shops on Stephenson Square, I am faced with something that loosely resembles a military operation, writes Rob Golledge.

Mr Hansen-Luke – his name befitting a General in the British Army – huddles his troops and hands out clipboards with the names and addresses of today's targets. There is even a Land Rover to transport his forces.

The 44-year-old knows he has a big battle on his hands if he is to claim victory for the Tories in 36 days time by ousting veteran Labour MP David Winnick's 30-year rule of the Walsall North constituency.

"In an hour-and-a-half, we can get around 60 to 90 homes," he says to his small team on a chilly Friday morning.

"Ask them if they vote, and if they do what are their top priorities.

"Do not ask them who they are going to vote for but ask them who they prefer, David Cameron or Ed Miliband."

Oxford-educated Hansen-Luke grew up in Bedfordshire and has spent the last 20 years working across the Middle East from Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain managing billions of pounds of assets for wealthy clients.

As such you could question how he can relate to those living on the streets of Beechdale.

"Conservatives go everywhere," he says.

"A lot of people have Conservative values – they just don't realise it. They are right-wing with a social conscience, are aspirational and don't like the idea that their neighbours can live off benefits while they work hard.

"But they are disillusioned with things. They look around and do not see change. There is no-one telling them that things can be better."

Wearing a pair of white Nike trainers, fading jeans, an untucked blue shirt, and a body warmer – he looks like a dad trying a tad too hard to be cool.

For two years he has been hitting the streets of Walsall, Willenhall, and Bloxwich to drum up support.

The battle is not so much to get people to vote for him – it is to get them to vote at all. In 2010 just over half of those who could vote did.

Mr Winnick clung on to his seat with a majority of 990 – with 37 per cent of the vote – a fact that Mr Hansen-Luke is keen to point out means only around 20 per cent of residents in the constituency actually voted for him.

The seat is the 13th on the Tories' list of target constituencies in terms of the smallest majorities to overturn. But that by no means will make it easy. Walsall North has been red for all but three years since 1955. And that three-year period was in remarkable circumstances following the infamous John Stonehouse saga when he faked his death on November 20, 1974 to set up a new life in Australia where he was later caught, extradited and imprisoned for fraud.

The loser in the resulting 1976 by-election was Mr Winnick.

The political landscape will be somewhat different this time around.

The rise of UKIP could hit elements of both Labour and Conservative core supporters.

The big question is to which party the 4,754 Liberal Democrat voters from 2010 will migrate. Meanwhile, the Greens could hit Mr Winnick too.

Mr Hansen-Luke has uprooted his family from Bahrain, leaving behind a comfortable life in the Gulf.

For all candidates, the real sacrifices are those made by their families whose lives are left in a state of flux.

Mr Hansen-Luke is now hitting the streets practically every day of the week.

From knocking doors, promoting travel opportunities in schools, and arranging jobs fairs – his days are long.

There are also endless leaflet drops through letterboxes. Getting his face and name known is key – and he seems to be having some success.

In Fleming Road a passing motorist stops his car in the street, sticks his head out the window and asks how the campaign is going. But the scale of the challenge ahead is summed up by a shopper at the green grocers WE Whitty.

On hearing that the Conservatives were campaigning in the area, she said: "Oh I can't stand that lot, especially that Tony Blair when he comes on the telly."

With the campaign now fully under way the people here can expect big hitters from all parties to be making appearances here canvassing for votes.

"Most people here haven't ever met their MP or a politician," says Mr Hansen-Luke.

"I don't blame Mr Winnick for that – he has to be in Westminster most of the week.

"But people feel like they can't make a difference. It is my job on this campaign to get them to understand they can."

It remains to be seen whether Mr Winnick's slender majority is as a result of the unpopularity of the last Labour Government in its dying days, or whether there is a greater dissatisfaction with Labour or all the established parties.

Without a doubt this is Labour heartland. Mr Miliband should be extremely worried if he cannot win here. This is why it will be so hard for Mr Hansen-Luke, and candidates like him to make a major breakthrough.

Mr Winnick, meanwhile, seems almost flattered by the level of effort the Tories are going to. He will be a month shy of his 82nd birthday at the General Election and has represented the constituency for 36 years.

He said: "The fact that Tory high command are targeting Walsall North is something I've known for a long time.

"I'm no less committed to the fight now than I was in 1979. If I wasn't committed, I would have stood aside as candidate years ago.

"I'm going to fight against low pay and job insecurity and above all else fight for a fairer deal for local people. I know it's going to be a hard campaign. The Conservatives have a lot of money to spend. But if they think this makes me any less motivated they are very wrong."

Politics is not pretty – and I am not just talking about the politicians. The road to Westminster is far from glamorous; it's hard and gruelling work, particularly in the marginals. A lot rests on seats like Walsall North as both party leaders know without it they will struggle to form a majority government.

And if holding such a pivotal role in electing the government does not urge these residents to vote, nothing will.