RESIDENTS across south west Surrey are bracing themselves this week as the area becomes a key battle ground for the General Election. Long-serving Conservative MP Virginia Bottomley is stepping down leaving behind her a huge battle for votes. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Tony Blair announced that the General Election will be held on May 5 to coincide with the local elections which are taking place. The announcement kick-starts a month-long campaign across the area as the South West Surrey seat looks to be up for grabs. But the candidates of all three main parties have pledged not to make personal attacks on their rivals and instead concentrate on the issues. In 2001, Mrs Bottomley only just managed to keep her seat with the Liberal Democrat candidate Simon Cordon closing the gap to the narrowest it has been. It was only after a recount that the Tory was declared the winner with a margin of only 861 votes. However, much has happened locally and nationally giving all sides optimism that this could be their year. Simon Cordon is hopeful of getting the 0.85 per cent swing he needs to wrestle the seat from Conservative hands. He is looking to build on his past success and persistent campaigning over the years to get the last few votes the Liberal Democrats believe they need. "My campaign will be robust and honest," he said. "I shall be concentrating on my seven years campaigning here, my commitment to be a hardworking full-time MP and my passion for our local NHS." However the Conservatives are confident that the major threat of the Liberal Democrats has passed, and candidate Jeremy Hunt is hopeful of turning the tide for the Tories and increasing their majority in the constituency. "The Lib Dems had their chance to win the seat in 2001," he said. "If they were going to win it they would have won it then. "We will be fighting a positive campaign, and I will not be publishing anything negative or personal about other candidates. "We've seen at a national level how damaging negative campaigning is and no one wants to repeat it locally." Over the past few elections, Labour has consistently found itself in third place, but this has not deterred its candidate Tom Sleigh who is building his campaign on the government's recent successes. "I'm proud to be fighting for Labour in South West Surrey," he said. "Under Labour, our local schools and hospitals have got more money, crime rates have fallen and the economy is, and has been, growing steadily since 1997. "But people seem to be increasingly turned-off by party politics and negative campaigning, which is why I make the following pledge. "I will not, at any point in this campaign, attack any of my opponents personally. "I will focus entirely on the issues and on policies between now and May 4th." The UK Independence party is again putting forward a candidate for the seat, with Timothy Clark again in the running. Although Haslemere and a large number of its surrounding villages will be keeping track of the fight for the South West Surrey seat, other villages will be watching other battles. In Hampshire, residents of Grayshott, Headley and Liphook are preparing to go to the polls for the North East Hampshire seat in the last election before a major shake-up of the parliamentary boundaries. Traditionally the seat is a Conservative stronghold, and in 2001 sitting MP James Arbuthnot won comfortably with a majority of 13,257 over the Liberal Democrats. In West Sussex the villages of Camelsdale, Lynchmere, Hammer and Fernhurst will be looking at the fate of the Chichester seat. This is another Conservative stronghold with sitting MP Andrew Tyrie winning with a majority of 11,335.
