AA Gill recently described Watford as the “word for the little offcuts of the world, the edges of things that have no real purpose”. However, Watford is proving it does have purpose, real purpose — especially come 6 May.

This Hertfordshire town is a three-way marginal and has become a key target as the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and the incumbent Labour MP all have a good chance of winning here.

Last night all six Watford candidates took to the stage at Queens’ School in Bushey; Claire Ward for Labour, Richard Harrington for the Conservatives, the Lib Dem’s Sal Brinton, the Green’s Ian Brandon, Andrew Emerson for the BNP and UKIP’s party agent stood in for their candidate Graham Eardley. It was apparent from this debate, which addressed questions on ideology, climate change, the economy, the European Union and immigration, that the competition for Watford will be closely fought.

Ward, the youngest of the 1997 Blair babes, spoke with the confidence and experience you would expect from a government minister. Brinton presented herself much as Clegg did at the leaders’ debates with cool conviction and likability and Harrington was natural and impressive. It was the performance of the other three parties that left a lot to be desired.

The Green Party candidate started by announcing: “The Green Party can win here in Watford,” an extraordinary announcement for a party who recieved just three per cent of the vote in the last election.

The eccentric BNP candidate spent the entire debate listing his policies from the back of an envelope (literally). He also seemed a little confused about his party’s climate change policy. He claimed: “Climate change is a myth,” contradicting party leader Nick Griffin who clearly stated in a recent interview with Total Politics that “Climate change does happen, no doubt.”

The UKIP candidate couldn’t attend as he had a prior engagement so sent along his agent, who was again unsure of his party’s policies, referring people to the party’s website for more details. Both UKIP and the BNP candidates allowed their anti-immigration stance to dominate their time, and didn’t notice they had lost most of the audience.

Lib Dem Sal Brinton later commented to me: “Immigration has come up but it’s not nearly as a major issue as either UKIP or the BNP would lead you to believe.” Tory Richard Harrington agreed: “Immigration is a problem but it’s nothing like these nutters say.” And Labour’s Claire Ward praised this style of debate, as it “will lead people to look at their policies properly and see what they really stand for”.

The amateur nature of these candidates illustrates the struggles these minor parties face - not only within our political system but in their own internal party structures. Until these minor parties like the Greens, UKIP and BNP can organise themselves effectively, placing them in a position to competitively challenge Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems, they will never be anything other than glorified pressure groups. The mere thought that one or a combination of these parties may hold the balance of power in a hung Parliament is truly terrifying because if they can’t organise convincingly on a local basis how can they expect to operate on a national level?

Watford is certainly a seat to watch out for on 6 May, as like the election, it’s undoubtedly a three-horse race.