A manifesto for Tory recovery or a programme for government?

Our correspondent heads to weathervane Watford, the seat the Tories must win to get a majority, to assess whether the Conservatives’ strategy is likely to get a fair wind

WATFORD would never claim to be glamorous, or exciting, or even particularly political. But Watford, Gateway to the North, with one foot in the metropolis and the other in the countryside, may just hold the key to Tory victory.

Statistically, Watford is the seat the Conservatives must win if they are to gain a majority in Parliament; if Labour loses this constituency, the Government is in deep trouble. As Ali Miraj, the Conservative candidate in Watford, put it: “The Tories would have to win Watford to be in contention for government.”

More than that, unassuming Watford may be the most accurate weathervane constituency in the land. In every election since the Second World War, with just two exceptions, the town has voted for the party