Since Paul Burstow ended 23 years of Conservative control in Sutton and Cheam in 1997 he has seen off all challenges, often by only the slenderest of margins, to keep the constituency in Liberal Democrat yellow.

Once again pundits suggest the battle will be a shoot-out between these two parties, but unlike previous years there are new factors in play which could have a huge bearing on how the vote goes on May 7.

For more on the General Election visit www.suttonguardian.co.uk/generalelection2015

Having tasted power as the lesser half of the coalition for the past five years, the Liberal Democrats are facing a backlash at the polls over a perceived failure to live up to pre-election promises.

Virtually every commentator is predicting a loss of seats across the UK, though locally the Liberal Democrats bucked the trend securing a huge majority of seats at the local elections last year.

Coupled with this there has been a surge in popularity nationally for the Green Party and UKIP who will both be looking to make significant gains in the area, potentially tipping the narrow balance of power.

The Sutton Guardian has held three public debates for the candidates to field questions on subjects from health to education and the economy, which revealed strong support for some of the smaller parties, and potential areas where both the Conservatives and Lib Dems will come in for serious criticism.

Glenthorne High School played host to a 90-minute question time with Mr Burstow, Conservative Paul Scully, Labour’s Emily Brothers, Meave Tomlinson from the Green Party and UKIP’s Angus Dalgleish last week.

Polls conducted before and after the debate indicated that Mr Burstow’s experience speaking to a crowd was a crucial factor, as he turned a 18.9 per cent minority into a 50 per cent majority.

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Mr Scully increased his support from 20.6 to 21.1 per cent, while the others all experienced a decrease after the debate.

The constituency is widely seen as being a pivotal battleground for the keys to No 10.

The constituency has already been graced with the likes of Chancellor George Osborne supporting former Councillor Paul Scully and Business Secretary Vince Cable backing Mr Burstow as the two parties bring out the big guns.