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| Conservatives pick Copeland and Stoke by-election candidates | Conservatives pick Copeland and Stoke by-election candidates |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The Conservative Party has chosen its candidates for two by-elections. | The Conservative Party has chosen its candidates for two by-elections. |
| Jack Brereton, 25, will stand in the Stoke-on-Trent Central election triggered by the resignation of Labour MP Tristram Hunt. | Jack Brereton, 25, will stand in the Stoke-on-Trent Central election triggered by the resignation of Labour MP Tristram Hunt. |
| Meanwhile, Trudy Harrison, 40, who lives in the village of Bootle where she was a parish councillor for a number of years, will stand in Copeland. | Meanwhile, Trudy Harrison, 40, who lives in the village of Bootle where she was a parish councillor for a number of years, will stand in Copeland. |
| The by-election was called following the resignation of Labour's Jamie Reed. | The by-election was called following the resignation of Labour's Jamie Reed. |
| Mr Reed said he was stepping down to take a job at the Sellafield nuclear plant while Mr Hunt has taken up a director's role at the Victoria and Albert Museum. | Mr Reed said he was stepping down to take a job at the Sellafield nuclear plant while Mr Hunt has taken up a director's role at the Victoria and Albert Museum. |
| Analysis: Gavin Stamp, political reporter | |
| The Conservatives are quietly confident of doing well in both Copeland and Stoke-on-Trent Central, places that were once safe Labour seats but are now seen as being in play in the volatile Brexit climate. | |
| In choosing a candidate for the west Cumbrian seat who has worked at Sellafield, the Conservatives are making a statement of their support for the nuclear industry, the constituency's largest employer. | |
| If he were to win, the Conservative candidate in Stoke - 25 year-old Jack Brereton - would become one of the country's youngest MPs, although he already has plenty of experience having served on the local council for five years. | |
| The party finished third in the seat in the 2015 election and faces a strong challenge from UKIP, whose leader Paul Nuttall is standing, as well as a Labour Party who on Wednesday evening chose former Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council leader Gareth Snell as its candidate. | |
| Ms Harrison said she would campaign on supporting the local nuclear industry and backing the UK plans to leave the European Union. | Ms Harrison said she would campaign on supporting the local nuclear industry and backing the UK plans to leave the European Union. |
| "Copeland has had Labour MPs and Labour Councils for years," she said. | "Copeland has had Labour MPs and Labour Councils for years," she said. |
| "They've ignored us and failed to deliver the jobs, infrastructure and services we need, and now they want to ignore how we voted in the referendum." | "They've ignored us and failed to deliver the jobs, infrastructure and services we need, and now they want to ignore how we voted in the referendum." |
| Mr Brereton, who was elected to represent the Baddeley, Milton and Norton ward on Stoke-on-Trent City Council in 2011, said: "This by-election has come at a crucial time for our country. | Mr Brereton, who was elected to represent the Baddeley, Milton and Norton ward on Stoke-on-Trent City Council in 2011, said: "This by-election has come at a crucial time for our country. |
| "It is an opportunity for the people of Stoke to send a message that the referendum result must be respected, and to back the Prime Minister's clear plan to make a success of Brexit." | "It is an opportunity for the people of Stoke to send a message that the referendum result must be respected, and to back the Prime Minister's clear plan to make a success of Brexit." |
| Voting in both constituencies takes place on 23 February. | Voting in both constituencies takes place on 23 February. |
| The other candidates so far declared in Copeland are: | The other candidates so far declared in Copeland are: |
| Liberal Democrats: Rebecca Hanson | Liberal Democrats: Rebecca Hanson |
| UKIP: Fiona Mills | |
| Labour Party: Gill Troughton | Labour Party: Gill Troughton |
| The other candidates in Stoke are: | The other candidates in Stoke are: |
| Liberal Democrats: Zulfiqar Ali | Liberal Democrats: Zulfiqar Ali |
| Christian Peoples Alliance: Godfrey Davies | |
| UKIP: Paul Nuttall | |
| Labour Party: Gareth Snell |
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