East Midlands: The Battleground Region?
So here we go. There are 44 constituencies in the East Midlands. Labour will be defending 25 of them... some of the most marginal seats in Britain.
The Conservatives will have to increase their tally of 17 seats from the last election if David Cameron is to become PM.
The Chesterfield MP Paul Holmes is only Liberal Democrat MP in the East Midlands .
So where are the key seats?
Loughborough is one of the region's most marginal. Labour's Andy Reed defends a slender majority of 1,996.
There's Gedling, just north of Nottingham. Schools minister Vernon Coaker could see his 3,811 majority vanish if the Conservatives maintain the scale of leads in recent polls.
Other seats to watch out for: Derby Northwhere Bob Laxton is standing down. Both the Lib Dems and the Tories are targeting this Labour marginal.
Ashfield, where Geoff Hoon was the MP. Will the voters go for Labour's celebrity candidate Gloria De Piero, the former GMTV presenter?
North West Leicestershire, where Labour's David Taylor died at Christmas. He was planning stand down at this election anyway. The Tories need to overturn a 4,477 Labour majority.
Corby, seat of Phil Hope the government's Minister for the East Midlands, is particularly vulnerable. Labour's majority of 1,517 is the smallest in the region.
And there's a brand new constituency to get to know: Mid Derbyshire. It includes suburban Spondon and Belper. Boundary changes in Derbyshire could also be a factor in the outcome in those marginals.
Hello. My name is John Hess. I'm the BBC's Political Editor for the East Midlands and this blog will offer my musings on the political scene from Westminster to closer to home. 
