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If Joy Morrissey gets her way there will be another vicar’s daughter on the Tory benches when the Commons returns after the election — the energetic US-born Conservative candidate in Ealing Central and Acton is targeting the smallest majority in London.

In 2015, Labour’s Rupa Huq won by just 274 votes. It is a scalp the Tories need to claim and a 0.27 per cent swing would be enough to end her incumbency of this largely prosperous chunk of west London surburbia.

Until Theresa May’s manifesto stumble and election debate no-show, the polls suggested Labour should be swept aside and even now, with the lead down to single figures in some polls, conventional psephological wisdom would suggest Ms Huq’s days are numbered.

But this is London, and heavily Remain London at that, so the maths is far less predictable. Perhaps that is why voters have been subjected to a stream of visits from “big gun” Conservatives — including the original “vicar’s daughter” herself, who came days after her botched manifesto launch and endured at least one awkward doorstep encounter over social care.

Other Cabinet members lending a hand have included Amber Rudd, Justine Greening, Damian Green and Patrick McLoughlin.

Ms Morrison, whose father is a church leader in Ohio, has lived in the constituency for eight years and her husband and daughter are “Ealing-born and raised”. She does not hide her Leave loyalties — a decision she says was made because of the “democratic deficit” in Brussels.

She concedes there was “a lot of sadness in Ealing” — which has one of Britain’s biggest and longest established Polish communities — after the Referendum. But she adds hopefully: “We’re all moving forward and respecting the democratic process. Now it’s all about getting the best deal and I do passionately believe Theresa May is the only person who can deliver that.”

The 36-year-old remorselessly pushes the line that Mrs May is certain to be returned to No 10, which means only a Conservative MP “can lobby for Ealing and Acton to make sure our voice is heard” in the Brexit negotiations, she insists. “Rupa is very close to Jeremy Corbyn and he’s never been a fan of the EU and voted for Article 50 — so I don’t know if she’s planning to be an independent MP in Parliament?”

Ms Morrissey, whose CV includes time in the Californian film industry and a spell working for humanitarian charities in Kosovo, says she is “quietly confident” of regaining the seat.

Ms Huq freely admits she is in the “fight of my political life” but maintains her vote is holding up. The former sociology lecturer — and occasional DJ — emphasises her claim to be a hardworking local MP, citing the 400 times she has spoken in the Commons and the 17,000 pieces of constituency work she has handled in two years.

Predictably, she also bigs up her opponent’s Brexit sympathies on the doorstep, describing Ms Morrison as a representative of the “Bluekip” party.

However, she also says there is an element of “Brexit fatigue” setting in with many voters who are fed up with the endless theological debate about Britain’s future relationship with Europe and prefer to focus on more everyday issues.

That was certainly the case with Labour voter Frances Grange, 60, who runs an office servicing business. “My top concerns are funding for the NHS and education,” she said. “A lot of my friends who are teachers say the situation is worse than under Thatcher.”

Ms Huq, who is married with a son, also plays on her impeccable local connections — “there have been three generations of Huqs in Ealing”. She went to the same Ealing independent girls school as Apple Tree Yard star Emily Watson — as did Ms Morrissey’s daughter. The Labour MP describes her constituents as “my people” and her first Commons speech was on the issue of air quality in the pollution blackspot of Horn Lane, Acton.

The film and TV worlds run like a thread through the area. It hosts Ealing Studios where classic comedies like Passport to Pimlico and Whisky Galore! were made. Residents include Ms Huq’s sister, former Blue Peter presenter Konnie, and her husband, broadcaster Charlie Brooker.

Ms Huq was one of the MPs who nominated Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership in 2015 after the resignation of Ed Miliband. Does she regret it now? “Jeremy Corbyn does come up on the dooorstep but not nearly as much as people make out,” she says. “It can be a positive anyway. He’s very unspun, not off the production line, he’s an honest man. But I’m fighting on my record.”

It is not a view every voter shares. Semi-retired cameraman Nick Lera, 76, said: “I’d like Labour to be an effective opposition, I don’t want to end up in a one-party state. We need more MPs like Rupa on the opposition benches but I’m very unhappy with the leader at the moment.”

Ms Huq finds herself in the unusual situation of having a grandee from a rival party endorse her. Liberal Democrat Sir Vince Cable was re-corded last month saying their views on many issues were “almost identical” and “I would find it difficult to vote against somebody like that”.

It was not exactly a vote of confidence in Liberal Democrat candidate Jon Ball in his struggle to avoid being squeezed by the big two. In 2015 the Lib Dem vote collapsed to just six per cent, a catastrophic fall from 27.6 per cent of 2010, when the constituency was a genuine “three-way.”

The Greens and Ukip are not fielding candidates, leaving almost 4,000 “homeless” votes to play for — and on June 8 this could be crucial.