Revealed: Marginal Midlands campaigns get a share of Tony Blair's £106k
Labour's campaign war chest in six key seats in the Black Country and Staffordshire have been boosted by money from former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Mr Blair is a divisive figure in the Labour party because despite his three General Election wins he will be forever remembered as the man who took Britain into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
His offer of £106,000 to split between Labour's 106 target seats at the General Election has divided opinion with three candidates already rejecting it.
The West Midlands contains some of the marginal seats Labour lost to the Tories at the 2010 election and that both parties are fighting to win in May.
Without victory in these seats, the chances of another coalition or a minority government are far greater.
Mr Blair's donation will be divided to offer £1,000 for each of Labour's target seats.
They include Wolverhampton South West, where former Labour MP Rob Marris is trying to win back the seat he lost to the Tories in 2010. Mr Marris served two terms, winning both elections while Mr Blair was Prime Minister.
Also on the list of target seats are Halesowen Rowley Regis, Cannock Chase, Dudley South, Stafford and Stourbridge.
Labour candidates in the West Midlands are accepting Mr Blair's money to help their campaigns - although one admitted she disagreed with the former Prime Minister over Iraq.
Dudley South's Natasha Millward said: "I confirm that Dudley South Constituency Labour Party have received a donation of £1,000 from former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
"I didn't agree with Tony Blair about Iraq but under his Labour Government we saw the introduction of the National Minimum Wage, a massive improvement in child care to help working parents, new maternity rights and tax credits that helped millions of our fellow citizens."
Halesowen and Rowley Regis candidate Stephanie Peacock said: "We will never be able to match the tens of thousands of pounds that my Tory opponent has flowing into his campaign coffers, so it was an absolute delight to receive such a generous donation from Tony Blair. I am grateful that he has helped my campaign team to communicate our positive message to fellow residents in Halesowen and Rowley Regis."
Cannock Chase's candidate Janos Toth said: "Yes, of course I will accept the donation on behalf of Cannock Chase Constituency Labour Party. Our former leader won three general elections and his generous personal donation will help us here in Cannock Chase and Ed Miliband to win on May 7.
But Stafford candidate Kate Godfrey said: "I haven't had anything from the party to say that Stafford are on the list. If we're offered anything I imagine it'll be as a donation to the Constituency Labour Party and we'd follow normal practice, which is to put the donation on the agenda for the next meeting and have an open discussion.
Mr Marris said: "I'm happy to receive a donation from Tony Blair with whom I served in Parliament for six years. He is a member of the Labour party and a registered voter and there's no reason to refuse the donation, which I welcome."
Stourbridge candidate Pete Lowe was unavailable for comment.
Dundee East candidate Lesley Brennan became the first would-be Labour MP to turn down the money at the weekend.
She said on Twitter: "Received donation from Tony Blair. Instinct was to not accept. Discussed with team. Dundee East is not accepting the £1,000."
His contributions have also been turned down by Sophie Gardner, the party's candidate for Gloucester and Sally Keeble, who is standing in Northampton North.
Walsall North Labour MP David Winnick has a slender majority of 990 votes but incumbents are not being handed a share of Mr Blair's money. He said: "I disagreed with Tony Blair on matters such as 90 detention of terror suspects. But Tony Blair was responsible for three election victories, two of them landslides and my constituency party would have certainly accepted a donation from him."
In a letter to candidates Mr Blair said: "I know how hard it can be to raise money to fund a local campaign, but for you, in one of our 106 battleground seats, it is even more vital. This is where the election will be won for Labour and that is why I am making a donation to all 106 campaigns.
"As one of our key seat candidates you know better than most the scale of the challenge we face, but I have every confidence that with your drive, determination and organisational skills, you will deliver a successful local campaign that will also see our party returned to government."
Mr Blair is believed to have made millions from speaking engagements, directorships and consultancy work since he left political office in 2007.
