The campaign trail hotted up in north Shropshire where a Government minister entered the election fray as he joined the local Labour candidate to canvass the views of would-be voters.

John Spellar, a government whip and Comptroller to Her Majesty’s Household, hit the streets of Market Drayton with North Shropshire Labour candidate Ian McLaughlan yesterday .

Mr McLaughlan, 31, is standing for parliament for the first time against Conservative Owen Paterson, who has held the seat since 1997, plus Lib Dem, UKIP, BNP and Green Party candidates.

Mr McLaughlan said he was campaigning on key issues of jobs and the economy.

He said: “Nationally we’ve got to make sure we come out of recession but locally we have to reinvigorate our market town centres which have been neglected by the Tories.

“In north Shropshire we have to build on our strengths of tourism and agriculture and increase investment in renewable energy.”

Asked whether his party should be concerned by the latest opinion polls showing Labour lagging behind the other two main parties, Mr Spellar said: “People will say David Cameron and Nick Clegg are nice young men but when they draw the curtain of the voting booth I think they will remember we need the durability and experience of Gordon Brown to protect the recovery.”

Mr McLaughlan added that voters should look at the Tory-led Shropshire Council for a taste of what life would be like under a new Conservative government.

He said: “In Shropshire the Tories have made a mess of school closures and they wanted to withdraw Meals on Wheels.

“If that’s what they have done at local council level, imagine what the Tories will be like in government.”