Swing seats await election onslaught

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By Chris Mason and Ian Shoesmith BBC Radio 5 live, in Derby

Could the general election result be decided by the drinkers in places like the Wilmot Arms?

Suburbs like Chaddesden in Derby should prepare for a skip-full of election leaflets, a deafening number of sound bites and an Olympian amount of baby kissing in the next six months.

Will drinkers in pubs like this one decide our future prime minister?

In the coming weeks, locals will be canvassed, courted, even politically caressed by the three main parties in England - any one of which could win.

Since 1997 the seat of Derby North has been held by Labour. If David Cameron wants to be certain he will be our next prime minister, the Conservatives have to win 130 seats more than they have at the moment.

Strong community

Derby North is number 130 on their list. So if they win here, and in the 129 seats that are considered easier, they will have an overall majority.

The Liberal Democrats run the city council. After a re-drawing of the constituency boundaries, they finished second behind Labour at the last general election, with the Tories third.

In the Wilmot Arms is Steve, who works in the construction industry and has lived here for years. He admires the strong sense of community, but is frustrated by the petty theft and anti-social behaviour he sees in the streets.

For others in the Wilmot Arms, there is a frustration with all the Westminster parties. The legacy of the expenses scandal is everywhere

Mandy agrees. She told us her son had been mugged nearby by a gang of seven - five boys and two girls.

He had been shaken up by it, and the muggers were never caught. Mandy describes herself as a Labour supporter, but does not feel she will turn out for them on polling day.

For others in the pub, there is a frustration with all the Westminster parties. The legacy of the expenses scandal is everywhere. Contempt breeds cynicism, and there is no shortage of it here.

Planes, trains and automobiles

So regaining the trust of voters and a strong commitment to local issues seem to be vital attributes for the next MP for Derby North.

And there is the economic elephant in the room - unemployment here is higher than the national average.

Planes, trains and automobiles are the staples of Derby's economy. Bombardier makes the first two, Toyota the last one.

The Japanese car maker has a vast plant in nearby Burnaston which sprawls over 580 acres or, to lean on the inevitable comparison, the equivalent of 322 football pitches. About 3,500 people work there, churning out 700 cars a day.

Managers at the plant were candid when we went for a tour. They told us they could not carry on as before, they could not sell as many cars as they did.

Equally, Toyota was desperate not to lose its skilled workforce for good by making them redundant. After all, 21st Century car-making is much more than bashing bits of metal.

As we are shown around the factory floor, what looks like a glorified tea trolley chugs past us with a car seat on the top of it. It stops just next to the production line as a half-built Toyota passes by.

These so-called Automated Guided Vehicles are built in-house, they are four wheeled examples of the investment in the local workforce Toyota did not want to lose.

So the managers and the workforce agreed to take a 10% pay cut in exchange for an extra day off every fortnight and no redundancies.

The government's car scrappage scheme has helped Toyota, but it has not helped remove the uncertainty and nervousness about the future amongst the workers here.