Ex-Ukip candidate William Cash seeks Tory ticket in General Election

The son of veteran Stone MP Bill Cash is hoping to secure a seat in the region as the Conservatives hope to make big gains.

He said: "It is little coincidence that Theresa May chose to hit the election campaign trail in Wolverhampton and Dudley on Saturday.

"What is clear is that the West Midlands – and particularly Labour held Midlands marginals will be the key election battleground on June 8.

"With several weekend polls putting the Conservatives on target to win over 45-50 per cent of the vote, Labour are on course to lose at least two seats in Birmingham and as many as seven – if not more in the West Midlands.

"For Labour it could be a political Somme. For Tory candidates in the Midlands, it could be the best opportunity they have had to sweep up Labour seats since Thatcher's landslide of 1987 – 30 years ago – when she won 42 per cent of the vote.

"This is the same figure the polls predicted May would win when she announced the snap election, standing on a patriotic 'one nation' platform that – like Margaret Thatcher – is aimed at working class Britain as much as the middle class."

"If the polls are correct, Birmingham Edgbaston and Birmingham Northfields would be lost to the Conservatives from Labour.

"The Tories could take Coventry South and Coventry North West, Dudley North, Walsall North and Wolverhampton South West.

"Other vulnerable seats include Walsall North where sitting Labour MP David Winnick is already 83; also all the Stoke seats.

"With Labour MPs like Rob Marris (Wolverhampton South-West) and Gisela Stuart (Edgbaston) standing down, and more likely retirements, there will now be a scramble in the next week for new candidates putting themselves forward to be selected. These parliamentary hopefuls also include myself should I be selected by a Conservative Association."