When the residents of South Staffordshire go to the polls to finally elect their MP today, they won't exactly be juggling political hot potatoes in their deliberations.

Rather, the major two issues in the campaign have been non-issues - expansion of an airport that all candidates agree they don't want to see expand and Europe, the sting of which has been removed by two recent continental referendums.

Opposition to Wolverhampton Airport was widespread and vocal two years ago but now there is very little current prospect of the airport's grander plans coming to fruition due to a lack of local authority support.

Mind you, that's meaningless, because no one standing is for it anyway.

A little tableau of this was played out at UKIP's campaign launch at the Bobbington airport last month.

UKIP's candidate, Malcolm Hurst, flew in in his own Messerschmitt 209 - not the Messerschmitt 109 Second World War fighter that the party's press release, bizarrely enough, promised.

Outside the gates stood anti-airport protesters and Labour candidate Paul Kalinauckas, sensing a quick PR victory no doubt.

But Mr Hurst turned out to be against expansion too, a bit naive in his choice of campaign entrance perhaps, but definitely against expansion of Wolverhampton Airport.

UKIP were all ready for turning the election into a dry-run of Britain's Europe referendum.

But, er, that's not probably happening now either after the constitution was sunk by French and Dutch torpedoes.

The campaign has been slightly enlivened by a spat between longstanding Tory MP for the area Sir Patrick Cormack and the UKIP candidate over the former's true stance on Europe.

Angry letters were dashed off to local newspapers.

"In 35 years, I have never written a letter attacking a political opponent. That is not my style. I like to campaign on issues and to preserve cordial relations with those who have a different point of view.

"However, the UKIP candidate in the delayed General Election vote in South Staffordshire has behaved utterly disgracefully," wrote Sir Patrick.

He was annoyed by UKIP "wrenching out of context" previous speeches to show he had performed a U-turn over Europe, from consistent Europhile to latter day sceptic.

He did appear to contradict himself by writing: "I would welcome a referendum on our remaining a member, but I would campaign vigorously for a "Yes" vote in such a referendum. However, I have never supported entry into the single currency." UKIP later pointed out that the proposed referendum was to have been on the constitution itself.

The poll is a delayed election from the May 5 General Election, which had to be suspended when Liberal Democrat candidate Jo Harrison died during the campaign.

In practice, it has had all the characteristics of a by-election, with a range of smaller parties - including television columnist Garry Bushell for the English Democrats - putting up candidates and a small poster war breaking out in the constituencies as parties plaster every available space with their colours.

Sir Patrick won a majority of 6,881 in 2001 and the Lib Dems trail the Labour challengers by a further 10,000 votes. UKIP believe, however, they are in with a shout of upsetting the odds and are buoyed by the fact the party took 26 per cent of the regional vote in last year's European elections.

A party spokesman said: "We are in with a real chance of doing well in the constituency. "Our message is that the General Election is finished. Labour has won it, and this is a chance to send a message to Tony Blair.

"Mr Blair promised the country a referendum on Europe, but he's not going to deliver."

Green Party candidate Kate Spohrer focused her campaign on environmental issues.

Labour candidate Mr Kalinauckas argues that voters still feel short-changed by Sir Patrick.

Labour supporters made great play of the fact that the Lib-Dem's "local campaigner" Dr Joanne Crotty stood in Eddisbury in the north-west on May 5.

But Dr Crotty, who stresses that she does live in the county, believes she can pick up votes from both Labour and the Tories, owing to Sir Patrick's clear support for the Iraq war.