SOME seats in Hampshire are on a knife edge, with nervous candidates scrapping for every last vote.

But Fareham is not one of them.

Conservative Mark Hoban comfortably won the seat at the last three elections, taking 55.3 per cent of the vote in 2010 and delivering a majority of more than 17,000.

The result was not unexpected – and in fact Fareham has been held by the Tories since it was redrawn from the Gosport and Fareham constituency in 1974.

Realistically, the Conservatives simply have to hope that history will once again repeat itself and the seat will remain blue.

Barrister Suella Fernandes won a hotly-contested selection process to succeed Mr Hoban as Tory candidate that saw her beat company adviser Jeremy Quin, manufacturing company founder Nick Rose and Portsmouth City Council leader Donna Jones.

She says her priorities, if elected, will be to work for more opportunities for young people and improve issues around access to health facilities.

But although it is seen as a “safe”

Conservative seat, that’s not to say Ms Fernandes’ opponents are going down without a fight.

Mr Hoban’s shock announcement that he would stand down after the election may have given a glimmer of hope to Liberal Democrat Matthew Winnington after his predecessor Alex Bentley garnered 23.8 per cent of the vote in 2010.

Mr Winnington claims his party offer the “only effective opposition” and is calling for a “fresh approach” in the constituency after decades of Tory domination.

Harvey Hines, one of two Independent candidates standing in Fareham, says he is “a man on a mission” to end Conservative control and has also pledged to work for the borough’s young people.

Another issue that could loom large over the election is that of Welborne.

The 6,000-home community, planned to be constructed on land to the north of Fareham, has been hugely contentious.

Bad-tempered council meetings on the subject have descended into chaos, with protesters jeering councillors and vehemently criticising the project.

Opponents picketed the opening of a public inquiry into the plans and Green candidate Miles Grindey is among those who fear the scheme going ahead.

Mr Grindey, who at 20 will be one of the youngest candidates across the UK, describes it as “socially, economically and environmentally catastrophic”, and says he would offer a “radically” different approach to being the town’s MP.

The constituency’s second Independent candidate, Nick Gregory, says he will not seek to be re-elected to Fareham Borough Council in protest against Welborne, and says he offers a viable alternative to the main political parties’ approaches.

The Conservative-controlled Fareham council is pushing for Welborne to go ahead and Labour candidate Stuart Rose is one who supports the development.

Jobs and the NHS are top of his list of priorities and like some other candidates he is also campaigning on a track record as a former borough councillor.

UKIP’s Malcolm Jones, a builder, says he would focus on another hot topic – congestion on and around the M27 – if he was elected as MP, and is also saying he wants to bring more skilled jobs to the constituency.

Fareham - in focus

FAREHAM includes the town itself, the largest in the constituency, along with Portchester, Locks Heath, Warsash and Titchfield.

It was formed in 1885 and has returned Conservative MPs ever since, including at byelections in 1931 and 1939.

The seat was then redrawn into Gosport and Fareham between 1950 and 1970, when this was abolished and returned to Fareham in 1974.

Since its inception it has been held by the Conservative Party and in the 1931 by-election Tory candidate Thomas Inskip even won the seat unopposed.

The smallest Conservative majority since the Second World War was returned in 1945 when Dymoke White won by 4.94 per cent and 3,381 votes.

In the last election in 2010 Mark Hoban comfortably won, taking 30,037 votes and 55.3 per cent.

General Election result 2010

  • Conservative Mark Hoban, 30,037 votes, +5.6 per cent
  • Liberal Democrat Alex Bentley, 12.945 votes, +2.1 per cent
  • Labour James Carr, 7,719 votes, -11.4 per cent
  • UKIP Steve Richards, 2,235 votes, +1.2 per cent
  • Green Peter Doggett, 791 votes, +1.5 per cent
  • English Democrats Joe Jenkins, 618 votes, +1.1 per cent