PEOPLE in Shipley like a rebel, it seems. Conservative backbencher Philip Davies may not be the toast of the Tory hierarchy, having been the second-most rebellious MP in the last Parliament.

But all indications suggest he still enjoys huge popularity within the constituency, after winning the 2010 election by a huge majority of nearly 10,000 votes.

It seems a little ironic that while Conservative minister Kris Hopkins is battling tooth-and-nail to keep his seat in nearby Keighley, despite being at the heart of the party, rebel backbencher Mr Davies looks set to get a much easier ride.

Bookmaker William Hill has him as the clear favourite, offering odds of a Tory win of 1/66 in Shipley. It is offering odds of 14/1 for a Labour win, 28/1 of a Ukip win and 100/1 of a Liberal Democrat win.

Hoping to cause an upset in Shipley are Labour candidate Steve Clapcote, Liberal Democrat candidate Andrew Martin, Ukip candidate Waqas Ali Khan, Green candidate and Bradford district councillor Kevin Warnes and Yorkshire First candidate Darren Hill.

Cllr Warnes, a politics and history teacher, will be hoping to make history himself by bettering his 2010 performance, when he came fourth with 1,477 votes in Shipley - more votes than any other Green candidate across the district.

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Now the Greens are enjoying a surge in membership across the region, he will be keen to build on that and attract more supporters from across the constituency as well as in the Green Party’s Saltaire heartland.

Meanwhile, Shipley is the only constituency in the Bradford district where the regionalist party Yorkshire First is standing a candidate.

The party wants to see the Yorkshire region given self-governance powers similar to those in Scotland and Wales, through the creation of a regional assembly.

And although Mr Hill has previously admitted to the T&A that he has little chance of winning in Shipley, the party is keen to use its election campaign to highlight what it says is a lack of real decision-making powers in the region.

To what extent these smaller parties can wrest votes away from Mr Davies remains to be seen.

For voters, key local issues which may affect their vote include concern over how public sector cut-backs are affecting services in the area, with some feeling the smaller towns and villages bear a greater burden than the city of Bradford.

Education standards will also be of huge concern, as well as the scramble for school places. The economy, and the transport infrastructure needed to support businesses, are likely to be high on the agenda.

And the question over where new homes are built, as well as whether they are affordable for first-time buyers looking to get onto the housing ladder, looks set to be another hot topic.

No matter how people vote, they are likely to vote in their droves. Turnout in Shipley was higher than anywhere else in the district in 2010.