So near and yet so far: Parties' big-hitters get lost on road to Shropshire

Yet Shropshire, England's largest landlocked county, has been the birthday party that nobody wanted to attend.

Our politicians are left to stare sadly at the flickering candle in the middle of their collective cake as the political elite queue up to throw gifts at the next door neighbours.

So why has Shropshire been left so out on a limb during the course of this political campaign?

Since parliament was formally dissolved on March 30, the Black Country has hosted a never-ending stream of illustrious visitors.

On the Conservative side, George Osborne, David Cameron, William Hague, Culture Secretary Sajid Javid and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt have all pounded the pavements of the Black Country and Staffordshire.

Ed Miliband, Ed Balls and Andy Burnham have all swung within a few miles of the Shropshire border to boost their campaign.

And Nigel Farage also dropped into Wolverhampton as he attempted to muster support for Ukip – but didn't make it into Shropshire, despite the presence of his fourth-in-command Suzanne Evans in Shrewsbury, and his transport spokesman Jill Seymour in The Wrekin.

London Mayor Boris Johnson and Ed Balls have both trodden the streets of Chester in the last few weeks.

None of the top brass have made their presence felt in Shropshire, although Jeremy Hunt and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg both visited Montgomeryshire as they look to tip the balance of power in a marginal seat that could be painted either blue or yellow come May 8.

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Telford's Labour candidate and previous MP David Wright also welcomed Tom Watson on the campaign trail with him, and while he is a prominent figure in the party, the West Bromwich East MP would not expect to hold a seat in the cabinet in the event of Labour forming a government.

The main issue in Shropshire is that many of our seats are considered safe.

The Conservatives are now 1/100 to reclaim their seat in North Shropshire, and there has been little during the course of the campaign to suggest that Owen Paterson has a great deal to fear on Thursday.

The same goes for Philip Dunne in Ludlow, whose odds range from 1/40 to 1/100 – with his closest rivals receiving nothing shorter than 12/1 to spring a surprise.

Only two of the seats in the Shropshire Star's circulation area are considered to be at all marginal.

The Conservatives hope to gain Telford, and sent a number of ministers to the town before campaigning began, although since dissolution the campaign has been fought at ground level.

The Liberal Democrats, meanwhile, hope to regain Montgomeryshire from Conservative incumbent Glyn Davies, who nabbed it from Lembit Opik at the last election. Jane Dodds has been supported by a number of key party members since then.

Labour landed Shrewsbury in consecutive elections in 1997 and 2001, before Daniel Kawczynski won it back for the Conservatives, and he now has a margin of around 12,500 votes over his red rosette rival Laura Davies and will be expected to win on Thursday.

This election has seen more detailed polling than any other in history.

Perhaps the most prominent has been from Lord Ashcroft, who has produced comprehensive and regular reports on national figures and marginal constituencies.

As such, it is far easier for the parties to look at where they can expect to enjoy the most benefit from their efforts.

Only one of Lord Ashcroft's opinion polls has focused on a Shropshire constituency – and that was its tightest, in Telford. That was conducted in January, and found that Labour had actually regained ground from the Conservatives in what was looked upon as a swing seat.

We are now counting the hours, not the weeks, before polls open. As with so much of this election campaign, it is now down to the candidates to either seal their own victories – or spring their own surprises.

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