Conservatives insist Grimsby seat is all to play for as Marc Jones is selected as General Election candidate

THE Conservatives have vowed to "fight the campaign hard" in Grimsby after unveiling their candidate for next year's General Election.

As reported on www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk yesterday, Lincolnshire County Councillor Marc Jones has been selected to contest the seat, which is currently held by Labour's Austin Mitchell.

The seat has been billed as a fight between Labour and Ukip, which has earmarked the constituency as one of its top 12 target seats.

However, Great Grimsby Conservative Association chairman Philip Jackson insists it is all to play for and said Mr Jones would make an excellent candidate.

Thirteen people applied for the role, and Mr Jones was chosen from an open shortlist of four – comprising two men and two women.

Speaking to the Grimsby Telegraph, Mr Jones, who was born in Grimsby and still has family living in the town, said: "I will be spending the next few months talking to residents and businesses and I'm really quite honoured to have that opportunity. Grimsby is the only seat that I had considered standing for."

The 42-year-old married father of one lives in Lincoln and is chairman of the Lincoln Conservative Association.

He served on Lincoln City Council from 2007 to 2012 and was elected to the county council in 2013, and believes that standing for the Tories in a traditionally Labour city will stand him in good stead for the campaign in Grimsby.

Mr Jones, who has worked in property for 15 years and ran his own business for four years, said: "What we need is a much more positive view of Grimsby. It has got some cracking potential and we need some new ideas instead of just more of the same. We need someone that's going to push Grimsby forward and I think the people of Grimsby deserve that.

"People are concerned about jobs for their children, making sure that housing is affordable and that the streets don't get flooded. "Grimsby needs someone who is going to be really proactive and say to government, 'this is a really important area for the nation's economy, we need to have the investment.'"

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