Political parties across Cumbria are getting closer to selecting candidates for the upcoming General Election.

Carlisle, Copeland and Barrow look set to become key battle grounds ahead of the June 8 poll, while the Conservatives are also eyeing up the Workington seat currently held by Labour's Sue Hayman.

In Carlisle, at least three people have put themselves forward to stand as the city's Labour Parliamentary candidate after Lee Sherriff, who stood for the party in 2015, officially ruled herself out.

They are Ruth Alcroft, Denton Holme city councillor, Paul Birks, county council candidate for Belah and Caroline Richardson, county council candidate for the Solway Coast.


Ruth Alcroft Mrs Alcroft, 40, is a working mum-of-two and former primary school teacher and has also been involved in a national Labour party initiative to get more women into leadership positions.

Mr Birks, 48, lives with wife Pamela, a city council by-election candidate, in Lowry Hill and has been heavily involved in a campaign against plans to build an incinerator in north Carlisle.


Paul Birks There may however be other names in the mix, with the final decision to be taken by Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) rather than a local selection process, due to the tight timescales.

The eventual candidate chosen by Labour, most likely next week, could well be key in Carlisle, with current Conservative MP John Stevenson's majority currently standing at 6.5 per cent.

He is set to stand for his third term, provided he is formally selected by his party later this week, and says he will fight it on the basis that it remains a marginal seat.


Fiona Mills Ukip's Fiona Mills, who also stood at the last general election, was expected to be confirmed as their Carlisle candidate yesterday, while Helen Davison, who stood for the Greens in 2015, said she had put herself forward again, but the selection process was still underway.

The Liberal Democrats are also in the process of appointing candidates for all the wards, and are said to have people in mind for each area, but names are not expected to be announced for at least another week.


Gillian Troughton In Copeland, Labour's Gillian Troughton is said to be very keen to stand again, despite losing out to Conservative Trudy Harrison in the high-profile by-election just two months ago.

However local health and homelessness campaigner Rachel Holliday is also believed to be interested, having lost out to Mrs Troughton in the local selection process last time, despite being favourite.

Other names rumoured as possibles include well known councillors Barbara Cannon and Tim Knowles, but both confirmed to the News & Star they had not put themselves forward for selection.

The eventual choice could prove controversial, with many local Labour party members believing Mrs Troughton should get a second chance.

But others are critical of the borough and county councillor, particularly after her involvement in the recent Cumbria Health Scrutiny Committee fiasco - where she controversially voted against referring plans to downgrade paediatric services at the West Cumberland Hospital to the Secretary of State, despite calls from local campaigners.

Again the decision lies with Labour's NEC.

Mrs Harrison will defend her seat, though again she must be formally selected by the party.

For the Liberal Democrats, by-election candidate Rebecca Hanson could also stand again, saying it was "a possibility".

However Phill Roberts, of the West Cumbria Liberal Democrats, said they were a still long way from confirming any names. He said it could be as late as May 8 before they make an announcement.

In Workington, Labour's current MP Sue Hayman will most likely be confirmed as 2017 candidate in the coming days.


Kerryanne Wilde Her Conservative rival will be chosen at a local selection meeting, likely to happen later this week. The News & Star believes there are a couple of candidates in the running, including one from Carlisle.

In Penrith and the Border, only flood volunteer and Ukip member Kerryanne Wilde has to date confirmed that she is keen to stand again against current Conservative MP Rory Stewart.