SIMON Fell has been selected by the Conservatives in Barrow and Furness to be their candidate in the upcoming General Election.


Members of the Barrow and Furness Conservatives have tonight voted to pick their parliamentary candidate for the election on June 8.

Mr Fell, 36, stood in the 2015 General Election when he reduced Labour's lead in Barrow to just 795 votes.

Although he was widely expected to be selected as the candidate, after Conservative HQ advised constituency parties to go with the candidates used at the last General Election, local members had the final say and Mr Fell was unanimously voted in.

Mr Fell said: "It’s a huge honour to have been chosen as the candidate for Barrow and Furness.

"This election presents a simple choice between the stable leadership of Theresa May or the chaos of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour.

"My focus is to secure the unprecedented investment flowing into Furness and to ensure that it works for everyone. We simply can’t risk Barrow’s future to Jeremy Corbyn.

"I’m looking forward to getting out on the campaign trail and talking about the issues that matter to the people of Furness. I’m passionate about tackling long-term poverty, supporting vulnerable people and working to put Barrow on the map to get us the vital improvements in infrastructure which we so badly need.

"I’ll be fighting for every vote. As we’ve campaigned in the council elections, three issues have popped up time and time again on the doorstep: securing Trident; getting a good deal from Brexit, and ensuring that young people have the opportunities they deserve.

"Only Theresa May’s Conservative Party has the plan to provide the secure stable leadership to deliver on these issues for Furness.

"We have a huge mountain to climb between now and June 8th. I look forward to fighting for every vote."

Speaking after the meeting, Andrew Butcher, chairman of the Barrow and Furness Conservative Association, said: "It was an easy choice for our members.

"Simon gave a great presentation and has already proven himself to them. Thanks to his leadership we came together as a team and nearly won in 2015.

"He’s not your typical Tory and will be a strong voice for Barrow. I’m confident that Simon will soon be joining Theresa May in Westminster."