When current Shipley MP Philip Davies first won this seat in 2005 he became at that time the only Conservative MP in West Yorkshire.

14 years later, Mr Davies is standing in his fifth General Election having seen off all comers down the years. 

Chris Leslie's 8 years as Shipley MP following Labour's 1997 landslide were a blip in a seat that has otherwise been solidly blue since 1950, but if Jeremy Corbyn's party hopes to secure a majority this time out then Shipley will need to be in his sights. With a 4.38% swing needed for a Labour win, it stands at #73 in the party's list of target seats.

With that in mind Labour's Jo Pike has been on the campaign trail for two years, having been announced as the party's parliamentary candidate for Shipley way back in December 2017 after that year's snap election saw Mr Davies' majority from 2015 cut in half.

A lecturer at Leeds Beckett University, Mrs Pike has been a highly visible presence in the constituency since her selection, locking horns with the incumbent on several occasions.

The Liberal Democrats' best showing here came in 2010 when they secured 20% of the vote, but they have struggled to regain a foothold since the post-coalition collapse of 2015, which saw them finish a dismal fifth behind UKIP and the Green Party. Caroline Jones fought the seat for the LibDems in 2017 and is back for another attempt.

The Greens stood aside in 2017 to endorse the Women's Equality Party, but are back in the race this time out, Celia Hickson bearing their standard.

Completing the line-up is Darren Longhorn of the Yorkshire Party, who are standing a record 28 candidates across the county on a platform including the creation of a devolved Yorkshire Assembly.