Tories make choice for battleground seat

THE Conservative candidate for a battleground seat has been announced.

Laura-beth Thompson, 30, was selected by Conservative members in the constituency to stand for Parliament in Heywood and Middleton North.

The current Heywood and Middleton constituency will be split between two seats in the next election: Heywood and Middleton North, and Blackley and Middleton South.

Chris Clarkson is the current MP for Heywood and Middleton, having won the seat in 2019 by 663 votes and become the first Conservative elected in the constituency.

Mr Clarkson announced in June he will stand down at the next general election.

Ms Thompson was born in Rochdale and grew up in Whitworth. She lives in Rossendale and has been a councillor there since 2021.

She has a legal background and trained as a solicitor, and is currently working in planning enforcement. She has been a member of the Conservative Party for 11 years, joining at 19.

Speaking after the selection, Ms Thompson said: “The people’s priorities here are the Government’s priorities and I want to help halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists, and stop the boats. Levelling up would be my priority if elected. I would look to hold Andy Burnham to account with his budget following the devolution deal, ensuring Heywood and Middleton gets its fair share of both investment and opportunities.

“As the MP here I would also ensure that I represented the views of residents on such things as the building of new houses and business development sites, ensuring that any such developments include improvements to local services and infrastructure, to the benefit of the local community.”