With under a week to go until the big day, reporter PATRICK GRAFTON-GREEN checks out the runners and riders for the General Election 2015.

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Gareth Johnson

DARTFORD
Counting venue: Acacia Hall, High Street
Count starts: As soon as possible after the polls close - Thursday May 7
Results expected: Friday May 7 - 6am

HISTORY
Dartford constituency has been among Britain's longest-serving bellwether seats - since 1964 the party winning the seat has gone on to form the government. Gareth Johnson has been the constituency's MP since 2010, when he replaced the Labour party's Howard Stoate, who was MP from 1997.

DID YOU KNOW?
This was the first seat contested by Margaret Thatcher (then Margaret Roberts), at the 1950 and 1951 general elections.

OUTLOOK
Gareth Johnson should hold his seat, but the emergence of UKIP has made the outcome less predictable, and could allow Labour candidate Simon Thomson to pip him to the post.

MP
Name: Gareth Johnson
Status: Running again
Magic moment: Two years ago Gareth Johnson was bowled out by a 13-year-old girl at his annual charity cricket match. A fact he says he shares with Prime Minister David Cameron.

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GENERAL ELECTION 2010 RESULTS
Conservative: Gareth Johnson 48.8 per cent (+7.6)
Labour: John Adams 27.6 per cent (-15.5)
Lib Dem: James Willis 14.7 per cent (+4.6)
English Democrats: Gary Rogers 4.3 per cent (+4.3)
UKIP: Richard Palmer 3.7 per cent (+0.7)

Conservative win. Majority: 21.2 per cent. Turnout: 65.7 per cent

GENERAL ELECTION 2015 CANDIDATES
Conservative - Gareth Johnson
Labour - Simon Thomson
Lib Dems - Simon Beard
UKIP - Elizabeth Jones
Green - Andy Blanchford
English Democrats - Steve Uncles

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Adam Holloway

GRAVESHAM
Counting venue: The Woodville, Woodville Place
Count starts: As soon as possible after the polls close - Thursday May 7
Results expected: Friday May 7 - 6am

HISTORY
The constituency was considered a bellwether seat - with the party winning the seat going on to form the government - up until 2005. This changed when current MP Adam Holloway captured the seat for the Tories by being one of 36 Conservative candidates to gain a seat from other parties.

DID YOU KNOW?
Prime Minister David Cameron made a surprise appearance in Gravesend at the Vaisakhi celebrations on April 18 - indicating just how concerned the Tories are the seat might be slipping from their grasp.

OUTLOOK
Gravesham is one of the key battlefields in this election, with Conservative, Labour and UKIP candidates all in with a shout. Difficult to call, although a betting man would back Adam Holloway to hold his seat.

MP
Name: Adam Holloway
Status: Running again
Magic moment: Last year travelled to Kurdistan in Iraq to visit Kurdish Peshmerga fighters based near to the town of Gwer in northern Iraq, which was being held by ISIS militants, before voting against military action on the Islamic State (ISIL).

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GENERAL ELECTION 2010 RESULTS
Conservative: Adam Holloway 48.5 per cent (+4.8)
Labour: Kathryn Smith 28.8 per cent (-13.4)
Lib Dem: Anna Arrowsmith 13.3 per cent (+2.6)
UKIP: Geoffrey Clark 4.8 per cent (+2.9)
English Democrats: Steve Uncles 2.1 per cent (n/a)
Conservative hold. Majority 19.7 per cent. Turnout: 67.4 per cent

GENERAL ELECTION 2015 CANDIDATES
Conservative - Adam Holloway
Labour - Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
UKIP - Sean Marriott
Green - Mark Lindop
Lib Dem - Anne Marie Bunting

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Michael Fallon

SEVENOAKS
Counting venue: Sevenoaks Leisure Centre, Buckhurst Lane
Count starts: As soon as possible after the polls close - Thursday May 7
Results expected: Friday May 7 - early hours

HISTORY
With the exception of the one-year Parliament in 1923, the constituency has to date been a Conservative stronghold. Michael Fallon has been MP since 1997.

DID YOU KNOW?
Since 1950 the highest government position of a Sevenoaks MP has been that of Michael Fallon, who is currently Secretary of State for Defence.

OUTLOOK
Even with the rise of UKIP making the election more difficult to call - especially in Kent - it is extremely unlikely anyone will come close to ousting Michael Fallon, the constituency's MP for 18 years.

MP
Name: Michael Fallon
Status: Running again
Magic moment: Launched into an extraordinary attack on Ed Miliband when he said, in an interview earlier this month, the Labour leader was prepared to "stab the United Kingdom in the back to become Prime Minister". He warned his failure to commit to replacing all four of Britain’s nuclear submarines suggested he was prepared to scrap Trident in exchange for SNP support in a post-election deal, and compared this to his decision to stand against his brother for the Labour leadership.

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Ed Miliband

GENERAL ELECTION 2010 RESULTS

Conservative: Michael Fallon 56.8 per cent (+5)
Liberal Democrat: Alan Bullion 21.4 per cent (-0.5)
Labour: Gareth Siddorn 13.2 per cent (-7.8)
UKIP: Christopher Heath 3.6 per cent (-0.6)
BNP: Paul Golding 2.8 per cent (n/a)

Conservative hold. Majority: 35.4 per cent. Turnout: 71 per cent.

GENERAL ELECTION 2015 CANDIDATES

Conservative - Michael Fallon            
Labour - Chris Clark            
Liberal Democrat - Alan Bullion            
UKIP - Steve Lindsay    
Green - Amelie Boleyn