RURAL affairs, the decline of heavy industry and the continued regeneration of a diverse Parliamentary seat provides the election candidates with plenty to think about.

Those three key areas are among the wide variety of concerns affecting residents of Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland but one candidate believes the entire General Election is focussed around Brexit.

With Labour’s slim majority of just 2,268 votes it is seen as a key battleground, with the Conservatives listing it as a top target.

And the decision of sitting Labour MP, Tom Blenkinsop, to stand down within minutes of the snap election being called by Theresa May did not come as a shock for many in the area after he regularly voiced his disapproval of the appointment of Jeremy Corbyn as party leader.

The Conservative party has identified it as an achievable target for them if it is to continue its progress across the Tees Valley region.

Simon Clarke, a Marton-born solicitor, fought for the Middlesbrough seat in 2015 and this time has been selected to fight in the neighbouring constituency.

The 32-year-old currently works as a parliamentary researcher and policy advisor to Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart in the Houses of Parliament.

“Middlesbrough is my home town and is the area that I care deeply about and understand the problems people are facing,” he said. “One the key problems for South Middlesbrough is the ‘Marton Crawl’ – this is a problem that has been around for years but is getting worse. There are more houses getting built and getting access to James Cook University Hospital is proving ever more difficult.

“The problems facing East Cleveland are completely different. There are towns and villages, such as Lingdale and Loftus, where residents fell abandoned by both local and national government. These communities have been felling neglected for a long time.

“One of the key messages from the Conservatives in the area is changing the narrative from one of focussing on decline to turning it around and speaking up the positives in the Tees Valley – something that the election of Ben Houchen as Mayor has proven.

"The message that I want to get across is that the future is positive and let's get away from running the area down because that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, like it has under Labour councils."

Veteran political campaigner and Liberal Democrat candidate Chris Foote Wood has dusted himself down after finishing a distant third in the Tees Valley Mayoral election and returns to the campaign trail undaunted by the experience.

He first stood for a council – Newcastle City – in 1963, and he made his debut on a Parliamentary platform at Newcastle North at the February 1974 General Election.

With more than 40 election campaigns behind him, Mr Foote Wood believes that Brexit negotiations are at the heart of constituents worries and concerns.

"Everyone that I speak to talks about Brexit," he said. "As a party we accept the referendum decision but what is important to people now is the deal that gets negotiated. Theresa May has made it clear that the Conservatives want a hard Brexit but we are more interested in the details of the deal.

"When I spoke to people during the Tees Valley Mayoral election, people were really worried about Brexit and that hasn't changed. The calling of the General Election meant there was a loss of momentum on the mayoral election but the concerns remain exactly the same for residents.

"We want to make sure we have the best possible terms and if we don't get the best deal, we should send it back and get them to try renegotiate."

Middlesbrough councillor Tracy Harvey was selected by the Labour party to replace Tom Blenkinsop in the fight to retain the Parliamentary seat.

As well as her council work, she is also a trade unionist, a school governor for two local primary schools and is heavily involved in local community and voluntary organisations.

“I’ve lived here all my life so am really thrilled to have been selected as the Labour candidate for our area," she said. "I’m looking forward to getting out and campaigning for Labour against the Tories who are doing so much damage to our society and our local economy.

"People are feeling very neglected by the Government, they are worried about housing, the NHS, jobs and training. The area is very diverse and each community has its own problems and concerns – what I have to do is identify them and try to solve them.

"I have spoken to many people in schools and parents outside of them, and the message coming through loud and clear is they are worried about funding cuts.

“The NHS and social care is in crisis, with health centres in both East Cleveland and South Middlesbrough axed and the hospital needs expanding."