Lichfield General Election profile: Who will challenge Tory MP in cathedral city?

The modern Lichfield constituency was created in 1997 following the abolition of the old Mid-Staffordshire seat.

It covers the cathedral city of Lichfield, the town of Burntwood and surrounding villages, including parts of East Staffordshire.

Conservative Michael Fabricant has held the seat since it was re-introduced, having previously won the Mid-Staffordshire constituency in 1992.

His current majority is 18,189, winning 55.2 per cent of the vote in 2015. The closest Labour has come to winning the seat was 20 years ago, in 1997, when Sue Woodward lost by just 238 votes.

Since then Mr Fabricant has increased his majority at every election.

The constituency has enjoyed economic success in recent years and is considered one of the most affluent seats in the West Midlands with extremely low unemployment and house prices higher than the regional average.

The cathedral city’s population has grown considerably over the past decade with the Darwin Park estate being built, Waitrose opening a large superstore and plans for the £70 million Friarsgate shopping centre gathering pace.

One of the biggest issues locally has been HS2 which will see both phases of the £55.7 billion high-speed rail line built through the area over the next decade.

There have also been concerns over cuts to services at Samuel Johnson Hospital and the lack of health centre facilities in Burntwood. Residents also fear more housing being built on greenfield sites.

In the EU referendum, Lichfield voted to leave with 58.8 per cent backing Brexit and 41.2 per cent voting to remain with a 78.7 per cent turnout.

• Mr Fabricant, 66, is a politician of notability who is hoping to keep Lichfield Tory. His long blond locks have captured the attention of national media commentators. He has appeared on TV programmes including Have I Got News For You and is a former Conservative Party vice-chairman. He campaigned for Britain to leave the European Union.

• Labour has again selected Chris Worsey, a councillor in Sandwell who lives on the Yew Tree Estate on the Walsall border. He is campaigning to fight the rise of artificial intelligence and automation leading to job losses. Two years ago he polled 10,200 votes, 19.8 per cent, to come second.

• The Liberal Democrats have chosen Paul Ray, a councillor on Lichfield City Council and Lichfield District Council. He graduated in 1986 from Aston University and has worked as a solicitor since 1997, being made a partner in 2005. He also stood in 2015, coming fourth behind UKIP, with 2,700 votes – 5.6 per cent.

• It is also a case of as you were for the Green Party with 2015 candidate Robert Pass standing. He is an environmental campaigner and director of Fortress Recycling. Last time he won 1,976 votes – 3.8 per cent.

• This time UKIP is not fielding a candidate despite its 15.7 per cent share two years ago.

Best Odds – Cons 1/200, Labour 40/1, Lib Dems 150/1, Green 200/1

Prediction: Conservative hold with an increased majority

Michael Fabricant is one of life’s colourful characters and it is hard to see him losing here.

While some of his wacky antics may lead to him not being everyone’s cup of tea, he has built up a national profile and large local support over the past 25 years.

To go from a majority of fewer than 300 votes to more than 18,000 is an impressive feat.

He survived the Blair landslide by the skin of his teeth and now boasts one of the biggest majorities in the region.

Everything points to him increasing his share of the vote and majority once again.

He campaigned to leave the EU – a stance backed at the ballot box by voters in Lichfield.

With UKIP not fielding a candidate, Mr Fabricant will presumably be the natural choice for those voters.

In 2015, UKIP polled some 8,000 votes in the constituency.

It means Mr Fabricant could be on course to win 30,000 votes for the first time.

If that happens then he could smash through the 20,000 majority marker.

It is hard to imagine any sizeable increase in the Labour or Liberal Democrat vote here, especially after the Tory landslide in the county council elections earlier this month.