AS CANDIDATES enter their final week of campaigning before next Thursday's General Election, the main contenders for the West Devon and Torridge seat are gearing up for a close fight.

Conservative Geoffrey Cox, who has been the constituency MP for five years, is hoping for a second term, while candidate Adam Symons is hoping the surge in national polls for the Liberal Democrats will be reflected locally.

The Liberal Democrats last held the seat from 1997 to 2005 but before that it was dominated by the Tories — Emma Nicholson and her predecessor Sir Peter Mills were both voted in as Conservative, but Mrs Nicholson defected to the Liberal Democrats two years before her term ended. The constituency has been redrawn since the last election.

Mr Cox, who was elected in 2005, said his campaign was going extremely well and support had been excellent.

'People are determined that they want a change of Government and the truth is that the only way of achieving that is to vote Conservative,'

He said in this election it appeared that people were making up their minds in the last week: 'People are now getting really interested and many are saying to me that they are going to switch their vote to Conservative. If this is repeated across the South West we could really see a change in a week's time.

'The South West has been neglected over the past 13 years and everybody has been affected from the primary school teacher to the farmer and the small businessperson.

'We are under a huge strain in maintaining employment here in the South West and people from all walks of life realise that the Labour Government has not been good for them.'

Mr Cox said with five years' experience as the MP, he was very aware of the issues, having held regular surgeries in towns within the constituency, including Tavistock. He had been involved in many campaigns, from trying to stop the closure of post offices to tackling anti-social behaviour.

'Hopefully, people will look at my track record and the support will hold firm in Tavistock.'

Mr Symons said he had also received a very positive reaction from people while on the campaign trail: 'It is undoubtedly going to be very close here but it is clear that people want a fresh start.

'Tavistock reflects the mood across the country and that is that people want to see a different kind of politics. They think the Liberal Democrats can deliver fairness and reform in this country.'

He said that in Tavistock, housing and education were big issues.

'People are concerned about the amount of housing that is being built in the town and the money available to schools, given that Tavistock College is on special measures,' he said.

Within the Liberal Democrat manifesto was a pupil premium policy which helped to push money towards disadvantaged areas like West Devon and Torridge, he said.

'It basically means that Devon would see £26-million of additional funding each year for its schools,' he said.

Mr Symons said his party would scrap the regional spatial strategy target, ensuring that local authorities would have more authority over housing numbers.

Born in Clovelly, where he still lives, Mr Symons said: 'It is very difficult to tell which way it will go at the moment but I have a very positive reaction around Tavistock. I was in the Meadows on Saturday and people were coming up and shaking my hand.'

Labour candidate Darren Jones said the key national issue was about securing the country's recovery following the recession: 'The right decisions have been made so far to bring us through the global recession, but we are still in a fragile state.

'The Labour Party will not cut public spending too early and has taken tough decisions on raising public funds in a way that is fairest to most people. Conservative or Liberal Democrat cuts would plunge us into a double dip recession.'

Saving communities by keeping pubs, post offices, garages and community hospitals open is what UKIP candidate Robin Julian is focusing on.

Catherine Simmons for the Green Party is concerned about the local economy and says green jobs can be generated locally to benefit local people.

British National Party candidate Nick Baker wants to see rural well-being and quality of life preserved.

Polling day is Thursday, May 6.