Shrewsbury & Atcham general election guide 2017 - Hospital controversy will dominate local campaign

When he first landed the seat in 2005, he did so with a majority of 1,808 votes, but extended that to 7,944 in 2010, with Labour pushed back into third place behind the Liberal Democrats.

The last time voters went to the polls, Labour were returned in second place, but the Tory majority was further extended to more than 9,500.

Come June 8, it is unlikely the constituency will turn any colour other than blue on the fancy interactive maps, with Paddy Power offering odds of 1/200 on Mr Kawczynski – the country’s tallest politician at 6ft 9ins – being returned to Westminster.

One of the key issues involved in the campaign is healthcare and the future of Shrewsbury’s Accident and Emergency department.

And Labour’s candidate Dr Laura Davies will be using her own expertise to try and take advantage of the situation.

The Future Fit process has recommended one A&E department is set up at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, with the unit at Telford downgraded.

While this would broadly be welcomed by the people of Shrewsbury & Atcham, Labour’s own leader Jeremy Corbyn said on a visit to the Shropshire Star the county needed two A&E departments.

Will healthcare be enough for Labour to wrestle the seat back from the Tories for the first time since 2005? History would suggest not.

Paul Marsden’s victory in 1997 saw the seat turn red for the first time in history and odds of 25/1 for a Labour victory points to another term for Warsaw-born Mr Kawczynski.

Well known local councillor Hannah Fraser will be carrying the fight for the Liberal Democrats, who are priced at 33/1 with the bookmakers to win the Shrewsbury & Atcham seat.

A Shropshire Councillor and Shrewsbury Town Councillor, Ms Fraser is a recognised face among the local community, who is passionate about another of the big issues facing the town.

The future of the Quarry Leisure Centre has been on the agenda for several years now. The issue of the future of the swimming pool and fitness complex is a thorny one, with Shropshire Council wanting to move the facility to Sundorne Sports Village.

Ms Fraser has backed Shrewsbury Town Council’s efforts to keep it in the town centre, and this could prove to be a local issue she could look to use to win votes.

After finishing third in 2015, UKIP are seen as very much an outside bet for Shrewsbury & Atcham this time around. In the last election, deputy chair Suzanne Evans, who was born in the town, stood for the party and had high hopes of running the Tories close.

So far this time around, Edward Higginbottom, who is standing for the party, is fighting odds of 200/1 for UKIP to win the seat.

Emma Bullard will be contesting the seat on behalf of the Green Party and Paddy Power have priced them at 500/1 to be successful.

If, as expected, Shrewsbury & Atcham once again returns a Conservative MP, residents can expect more campaigning from Mr Kawczynski on the need for a north west relief road in the town.

Funding of £1 million has been secured to allow the local authority to put together a business case for the road, which is seen by some as the missing piece of the jigsaw in the transport network of the town.

Shrewsbury’s transport links have been a pivotal issue for Mr Kawczynski, who has been a long term supporter of the relief road.

The truth is that Shrewsbury & Atcham is a seat with a long-standing Conservative tradition.

Before Paul Marsden’s surprise scoop of the seat in 1997 for Labour, the Tories had enjoyed an unbroken run of success in the seat since 1923 – and even that was a short-term gain, with what was then the Liberal Party holding Shrewsbury, as the seat was then known, for only one term.

The Liberal Democrats had traditionally kept hold of second spot in the constituency before 1997, pushing Labour into third place.

Derek Conway, who preceded Mr Marsden as the local MP, took the seat on three separate occasions, with majorities ranging from 8,624 to 10,695.

His predecessor Sir John Holt held a real stranglehold on the vote, winning an astonishing 11 consecutive elections to keep hold of the constituency for 38 years.

The Shrewsbury & Atcham constituency in its present form was created in 1983, since when its 70,000 voting inhabitants have generally achieved a turnout of around 65 to 70 per cent on polling day.

Meet the candidates

Daniel Kawczynski – Conservative

Shrewsbury & Atcham MP since 2005, Mr Kawcynski is seeking re-election for the third time by defending his majority of more than 9,000. Brought up in Surrey, the towering Warsaw-born Mr Kawczynski studied Business Studies with French and Spanish at Stirling University. Before breaking into politics, he worked in telecommunications for 10 years, travelling extensively in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In Westminster, Daniel now sits on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and was previously the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Wales. In the last Parliament he was also appointed the Prime Minister’s Envoy to the Polish and Eastern European Diaspora in the United Kingdom.

Dr Laura Davies – Labour

Having achieved a seven per cent swing to Labour in the last election, Dr Laura Davies will once again bid to unseat the current Tory MP. Working in a trauma centre at a hospital in Birmingham, the NHS is understandably one of Dr Davies’ passions. Laura gave birth to her second child just a atter of months ago, but says she is determined to combine being a new parent and representing the people of Shrewsbury in parliament. She also wants to fight a Conservative ‘Brexit at any cost’, saying that risks the economic prosperity of the area.

Hannah Fraser – Liberal Democrats

Recently re-elected to both Shropshire Council and Shrewsbury Town Council, Hannah Fraser will now carry the fight for the Liberal Democrats in the parliamentary elections. In her own words, Hannah believes in a Britain that is “open, tolerant and united” and sees the election as “an opportunity for us to change Britain’s future and stop us heading for a hard Brexit that will do untold damage to our country.” She lives in Shrewsbury with her husband and family, with her children attending a local primary school. She also runs her own business as an environmental consultant. In the local political scene, she has warned against rushing any proposed north west relief road, urging more evidence be gathered before any decisions are made.

Edward Higginbottom – UKIP

Born in Iran while his father worked for what is now BP, Edward later went to school in Church Stretton before attending Shrewsbury Technical College. He started his working life with the National Provincial Bank in 1967 at their Ludlow branch. With previous experience as a councillor on the former Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council and Great Hanwood Parish Council, Edward now hopes to represent UKIP at Westminster.Edward says his aims are to put more money into the NHS and social care by cutting foreign aid and for a fair, points-based immigration system. He would also like to see proportional representation in parliament.

Emma Bullard – Green Party

Emma Bullard moved to Shrewsbury more than 15 years ago and will once again return to try and win the Shrewsbury & Atcham seat for the Green Party. She has experience of fighting local elections, having contested seats on behalf of the Greens in Bristol and Salisbury. Mrs Bullard has worked in the sustainable transport team at Shropshire Council, particularly focusing on cycling projects in Shrewsbury. She has said she is looking forward to fighting the positive campaign “centred on the Green Party’s bold policies that address the real issues that Britain should be dealing with.”

Disraeli among town’s MPs

Historically, Shrewsbury & Atcham is a Tory heartland.

The county has been blue since 2005 when Daniel Kawczynski snatched the seat from Labour with a majority of 1,800. Paul Marsden shocked local politics by scooping the seat for Labour in 1997, with the party holding it for two terms. Before that, the Tories had enjoyed an unbroken run of success since 1923.

But away from the impending June 8 election, what is Shrewsbury known for?

Perhaps the most famous MP for Shrewsbury & Atcham is one whose statue still stands in the centre of the town today. Robert Clive – Clive of India – secured India for British rule in a series of military campaigns.

He acquired great wealth and was dogged by accusations of corruption upon his return to Britain. He was MP from 1761 until 1774, and made Baron Clive of Plassey in 1762. He committed suicide and is buried at Moreton Say near Market Drayton.

Benjamin Disraeli, one of the foremost figures of 19th century politics and one of the key figures in the creation of the modern Conservative Party, was another well-known former Shrewsbury MP.

Still the only Jewish Prime Minister in history, he served the town between 1841 and 1847.

Paul Marsden, who won the seat in 1997 and held it in 2001, became the first MP since Winston Churchill to defect between parties twice, crossing from Labour to the Liberal Democrats, then going back again.

The constituency includes villages such as Bayston Hill, Ford, Dorrington, Condover, Minsterley, Pontesbury, Bomere Heath, Wroxeter and Atcham, while its southern limit is the edge of the Shropshire Hills AONB.

There are almost 74,000 voters in Shrewsbury and Atcham.

Previous election results

2015: DANIEL KAWCZYNSKI - (CON) - 24,628 Laura Davies (Lab) - 15,063 Suzanne Evans (Ukip) - 7,813 Christine Tinker (Lib Dems) - 4,628 Emma Bullard (Green) - 2,247 Sterling McNellie (Children of the Atom) - 83 CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY - 9,565

2010: DANIEL KAWCZYNSKI - (CON) - 23,313 Charles West (Lib Dem) - 15,369 Jon Tandy (Lab) - 10,915 Peter Lewis (Ukip) - 1,627 James Whittall (BNP) - 1,168 Alan Whittaker (Green) - 565 James Gollins (Impact)- 88 CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY - 7,944

2005: DANIEL KAWCZYNSKI - (CON) - 18,960 Michael Ion (Lab) - 17,152 Richard Burt (Lib Dem) - 11,487 Peter Lewis (Ukip) - 1,349 Emma Bullard (Green) 1,138 James Gollins (Ind) - 126 Nigel Harris (World) - 84 CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY - 1,808

2001: PAUL MARSDEN (LAB) 22,253 Anthea McIntyre (Con) - 18,674 Jonathan Rule (Lib Dem) - 6,173 Henry Curteis (Ukip) - 1,620 Emma Bullard (Green) - 931 James Gollins (Ind) - 258 LABOUR MAJORITY - 3,579