Constituency: Westmorland & Lonsdale (includes Kendal, Windermere, Kirkby Lonsdale, Furness and Cartmel)

Population: 83,788

Electorate: 69,021

Breakdown: This rural constituency has one of the lowest rates of unemployment in England and Wales. As of 2011, 12.8 per cent of its workforce were employed in the accommodation and food industry - the second-highest percentage in the country.

Key industries/employers: Tourism from the Lake District National Park, agriculture, light industry.

Issues likely to be key to voters' decision: Brexit, the rural economy.

Sitting candidate: Tim Farron (Lib Dem).
Farron has been the sitting MP since 2005, and having spent four years as the party’s president became leader following the resignation of Nick Clegg in 2015.

Other candidates:
James Airey (Con); Eli Aldridge (Lab); Mr Fish Finger (Independent)

2015 figures:
Liberal Democrat (25,194, 51.5%), Conservative (16,245, 33.2%), UKIP (3,031, 6.2%), Labour (2,661, 5.4%), Greens (1,798, 3.7%). Turnout 73.4%
Conservatives target seat: No 92 (9.14% swing required)

Previous holders of the seat for the last four general elections:

  • 2001: Tim Collins (Con), majority 3,147
  • 2005: Tim Farron (Lib Dem), majority 267
  • 2010: Tim Farron (Lib Dem), majority 12,264
  • 2015: Tim Farron (Lib Dem), majority 8,949

How constituency voted in Brexit referendum:

  • Remain: 34,531
  • Leave: 30,800

Analysis:
If the result in Westmorland & Lonsdale is a foregone conclusion, then the influence of its soon-to-be re-elected MP in shaping the political landscape on June 8 is one of the more fascinating sub-plots of the snap election.
Under Tim Farron’s two-year leadership, the Liberal Democrats have gained one seat in Parliament but that counts as a significant improvement considering the party was left with just eight MPs after the 2015 General Election massacre.
More importantly, perhaps, is the Lib Dems’ steady rise in popularity under Farron following the Brexit vote last year.
The party's standing in opinion polls has climbed from six to 11 points and while that falls well short of the 23-point high back in the heady days of early coalition government, the timing of Theresa May’s decision could not have been better for Farron.
By sticking to a firmly pro-European line, the Lib Dems can now legitimately position themselves as the Remainer party. As such, this adds weight to Farron’s claim that they are a legitimate alternative to the Conservatives in June.
It may be outlandish to suggest they will come anywhere close to regaining the 49 seats they lost in 2015; however their momentum will be enough to trouble those Conservatives who snatched traditional Lib Dem strongholds two years ago and Farron will regard any gains as a triumph.
He will hope his inevitable confirmation as Westmorland & Lonsdale’s MP will only be the start of a busy night.