By James Montgomery and Margaretha de Clercq: One 15-year-old boy proved not all young people are apathetic about politics.
Wearing his blue Conservative rosette with pride, Tim Aspin was meticulously helping organise the count of votes in Stafford on Thursday night and Friday morning.
It’s three years before Tim can vote, but he says he still feels he can make a difference through campaigning.
He joined the Conservative Party a year and a half ago.
Tim became interested in politics through his parents, saying that being an only child it was often the subject around the dinner table.
Unfortunately, he says his …

By Ben Lowe: Britain is heading for a hung parliament with no party securing an overall majority.
David Cameron’s Conservatives gained the most seats, followed by Labour and the Liberal Democrats, who did not perform as well as expected.
Mr Cameron is now trying to form a government, but Gordon Brown wants to shake hands on a coalition with Nick Clegg’s Lib Dems.
Closer to home, the Conservatives reflected their national success by winning several Staffordshire constituencies.
In Stafford, Jeremy Lefroy (22,047) polled more votes than Energy Minister David Kidney (16,587) who loses the …

By Margaretha de Clercq and James Montgomery: The Labour stronghold of Stafford was overthrown with a convincing win by Jeremy Lefroy securing victory for the Conservatives.
Labour candidate David Kidney had been in power since 1997, when he beat David Cameron.
Yet Mr Lefroy acknowledged Mr Kidney’s successful run over the past 13 years, saying in his acceptance speech: “I have got to earn the respect that David Kidney has earned.”
Mr Lefroy commended the amicable way in which all candidates had fought the election.
He said he was “very honoured” to have …

By James Truswell: Stafford Borough Council are hoping to boost the electoral turnout by allowing people to vote in unusual locations.
People have been voting in pubs, hairdressers and also Marstons Road – home of Stafford Rangers – as well as usual locations such as schools and village halls.
In order to maximise the turnout, Chief Executive and Acting Returning Officer Ian Thompson has increased the number of polling stations that cover the two constituencies of Stafford and South Staffordshire.
“One of my duties as acting returning officer is to ensure that as …

By James Truswell: Stoke-on-Trent British National Party leader Michael Coleman has said he respects Islamic states – and is still hopeful of a positive response from Muslims after trying to canvas support.
Mr Coleman wrote a letter to local Muslims yesterday (May 3) to ask for their vote in the general election.
And he believes his letter is being considered by the Islamic community.
He said: “They haven’t contacted us back yet which means we believe they are considering the offer from the BNP.”
Mr Coleman – BNP candidate for the …

By Ben Lowe: The Conservative candidate for Lichfield saw the funny side when he splatted the face of David Cameron at a village event.
Michael Fabricant was attending a well dressing celebration in Newborough when he was challenged to throw five sticky splat balls at the faces of rival party leaders Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg.
As people gathered to watch at the Uttoxeter Lions stall, Fabricant joked with the crowd before his first throw: “If I hit David Cameron, it will be a disaster!”
Fabricant has been an MP for nearly two …

By Matt Bowling:
Fighting for your vote, Stoke Central Labour candidate Dr Tristram Hunt visited StaffsLive on Thursday.
The former history professor discussed his ambitions to keep Labour’s hold on Stoke -On-Trent and outlined his plan to get voters behind him.
The little-known candidate has been plucked from obscurity to chase the threat from the BNP and others out of office on polling day.
Originally from London and the son of a former Labour Peer, Hunt said he was confident that Labour could overcome the difficulties currently facing the national Labour campaign.

The full …

By Leanne Kirtley: The leader of the Conservatives confirmed that he was taking “nothing for granted” ahead of the general election.
His comments came in an interview with StaffsLive reporter Ben Lowe at Weston Springs Community Primary School this morning (April 30th).
With polls putting the Conservative leader ahead following last night’s televised debate, he took his campaign to the school in Rugeley, where the eager children were invited to grill the politician on the issues that were important to them.
When asked if he preferred taking question from children or adults, …

By Joe Cuffaro: New figures have revealed crime in Staffordshire has fallen over the past three years.

The British Crime Survey and police-recorded figures have revealed that the county has seen a steady fall every year since the last general election. Overall, the figure in the region has dropped by 18 per cent since 2005.
But it is not all good news. The national police force comparison table, which was unveiled earlier this week, shows that people living in the Staffordshire area are at a higher risk of violent crimes than in …

By Jon Gilmore: The British National Party are set to launch their election manifesto at an undisclosed location.
With fears the launch will be disrupted by protesters, the BNP are not revealing the exact location of the event to the media until later today (April 23).
Support for the BNP has risen in Stoke-on-Trent steadily and the controversial party is fielding a number of general election candidates across the city.