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Newton Abbot Lib Dems select candidate

Can he turn round a declining share?

Nearly four years till next scheduled election

Newton Abbot Liberal Democrats have selected a candidate to fight the next general election, whenever it comes.

Martin Wrigley is currently a councillor for Dawlish Central on Teignbridge District Council. On Saturday, constituency party members chose him to represent them. He told them he has a three point plan for the area: "for the right housing in the right places; to inspire the constituency’s youth creating new and better-paid jobs; and help for those most in need in our community."

He wants local authorities to be allowed to build council homes again. He says he will also fight to eliminate poverty locally which has led to some people relying on food banks. He says: “I am outraged that some people wake up in the morning and have to make impossible choices – often between food, rent or heat.”

Lib Dem leader at Teignbridge District Council Gordon Hook says: “I look forward to working closely with Martin to win back control of Teignbridge council next May, and win back the Newton Abbot constituency at the next general election. He works hard and has shown that he is a winner."

He'll need to be, if the Lib Dems have any hope in Newton Abbot. In last year's election, their candidate Marie Chadwick won just 20 per cent of the vote, down nearly four percentage points on the 2015 election, and came third in a four-way battle for the seat. Conservative Anne Marie Morris increased her majority to win re-election with a much-increased majority, against a background in which the Tories lost their majority in parliament.

Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, the next scheduled general election is in May 2022, but one can be called earlier if two-thirds of the House of Commons agrees.

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