Conservatives name previous election candidate to challenge Mark Tami in Alyn and Deeside

The Conservative party has chosen Laura Knightly as their parliamentary candidate for the Alyn and Deeside seat at the General Election on Thursday 8 June.

Laura, a Conwy Councillor first stood as Conservative parliamentary candidate for the Alyn and Deeside seat in the 2015 General Election where she won 31.9% of the vote.

Honoured to be standing again as the @Conservatives candidate for Alyn & Deeside #GE2017 @Women2Win @WelshConserv pic.twitter.com/0BG49cjlm5

— Laura Knightly (@lauraknightly) 1 May 2017

Speaking after her selection Laura Knightly said;

I’m honoured to be standing as the Conservative candidate for Alyn & Deeside again.

Since the voters heard from me last I have been continuing to work as a county councillor and legal secretary, as well as studying for my Graduate Diploma in Law and volunteering as an adviser with Citizens Advice.

With only 38 days to go, I am really excited about the campaign. This election offers a clear choice between the stability of May and the confusion of Corbyn. I look forward to discussing key issues with voters on the doorstep over the coming weeks.

Labour’s hold on the Alyn and Deeside seat, a target seat for the Tories, looks set to be put to the test following a Welsh Political Barometer poll published last week showed the Conservatives having a 10 point lead over Labour.

Applying the projected poll swing to the 2015 General Election result would see Conservatives take Alyn and Deeside for the first time ever.

The result of the YouGov poll for ITV/Cardiff University led Professor Roger Scully from Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre to say; “Something extraordinary could be about to happen. Wales is on the brink of an electoral earthquake.”

Incumbent Labour MP Mark Tami is the only other candidate to signal an intention to stand so far in Alyn and Deeside.

The deadline for prospective parliamentary candidates to deliver nomination papers to the Returning Officer is 4pm on Thursday 11 May 2017 – It’s also the deadline for candidates to withdraw.

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General Election 2017 timetable