With one month to go before the General Election, the Times Series is looking at the contenders for each seat.

One of the most hotly contested seats in London, Finchley and Golders Green was created in 1997, when the old constituency of Finchley – represented by Margaret Thatcher from 1959 to 1992 – absorbed most of the old seat of Hendon South.

Finchley and Golders Green has been seen as a bellwether since, and was held by Labour’s Rudi Vis for the whole of the New Labour period from 1997 to 2010, when former Barnet Council leader Mike Freer won it for the Conservatives with a swing from Labour of 5.8 per cent, leaving him with a majority of 5,809 and 46 per cent of the vote.

Labour came second in 2010 with 33.7 per cent of the vote, and the Liberal Democrats third with 17 per cent.

Mr Freer will contest the seat again on May 7, and faces challenges from barrister Sarah Sackman for Labour, writer and publisher Adele Ward for the Green Party, project manager Richard King for UKIP and Liberal Democrat candidate Jonathan Davies.

The constituency covers the wards of Childs Hill, East Finchley, Finchley Church End, Garden Suburb, Golders Green, West Finchley and Woodhouse.