Candidate selection news: Shortlists for Bedford and Bury North

Updated, plus: the results of four recent contests in target seats – Bishop Auckland, Bristol North West, Crewe and Nantwich, and Ipswich.

Selection news: Shortlist for Bristol North West; Tall selected in Bath

Cllr Mark Weston, Simon Jupp and Kirsty Finlayson compete tonight for a shot at regaining Charlotte Leslie’s former constituency.

Selections. Five more seats and the first ‘team seats’ open for applications.

Bath, Bishop Auckland, Bristol North West, Peterborough, and Wirral West are seeking candidates, as are several northern cities.

Battleground Seats 1) The South West

We open a ConservativeHome series, which will run each Monday during the election campaign, on the key contests in each region

Battlegrounds Revisited 2) The South West

We continue our post-match inspection of our battleground profiles with the Liberal Democrat graveyard of the South West.

Election sketch: Charlotte Leslie – “Getting Stuff Done” on the doorsteps of Bristol North West

She knows how to “swim her own race” – and, at a local level, is part of the anti-politics movement.

Lord Ashcroft: My latest battleground polls – including a Tory lead in Rochester and Strood

I also have new findings from Bristol North West, Bristol West, Thurrock, Colne Valley and High Peak.

The Election Battleground 2) The South West

The second piece in our series explores the intense struggles across the South West of England.