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The ´óÏó´«Ã½ in the North West has decided to focus on three constituencies during the course of this general election.

The first is in Lancashire. We picked it for a number of reasons.

Partly the election result will be an interesting political marker. It is the Tories' number nine target seat in the region and their 79th nationally.

If they win here they would be about to overtake Labour as the largest party, though not yet with an overall Commons majority.

But the constituency is also politically symbolic.

It is one of those seats which swung to Tony Blair in 1997 and stuck with him.

What will voters decide about Gordon Brown? They have plenty to consider.

The constituency has the largest number of households in the country with where someone has a chronic condition.

Male life expectancy here is the lowest in England.

GCSE results are among the poorest in the country.

In my first report on the constituency tonight I have been talking to the old and young about their concerns and how that is likely to affect the outcome of the election.

During the week my colleagues on North West Tonight and will explore in greater depth some of these issues which are relevant across the region.

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