Six people bidding to be Ashfield MP

Ashfield will be one of the most closely-watched seats in Nottinghamshire, and one thing we know for certain is that it will have a new MP.

Gloria De Piero, who has been the MP for Ashfield since 2010, announced she will not be standing again.

It is an area where almost seven in 10 people voted for Brexit - 69.8 percent - and it’s also the seat with the smallest majority in the county,, as just 441 votes decided it last time around.

Natalie Fleet, a trade unionist and mum-of-four from Ashfield, will be hoping to keep the seat for Labour which they have held for 62 of the last 64 years.

The Conservatives made significant gains at the last general election, with their share of the vote increasing by almost 20 percent, and have put forward Huthwaite and Brierley Labour councillor Lee Anderson this time round.

Meanwhile Brexit Party candidate Martin Daubney, who is already a Member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands, will aim to attract some of the 69 per cent of residents who voted to leave.

It’s this perceived strength of feeling towards Brexit that prompted Nigel Farage to make Ashfield one of the first seats he visited, launching his party’s campaign in a miners’ welfare club in Kirkby.

The Liberal Democrats have nominated Becky Wain, and will be hoping to improve on their fifth-placed finish last time round. Standing for the Green Party is Rose Woods.

The full list:

Lee Anderson, address in the Mansfield constituency - The Conservative Party.

Martin Daubney, address in the Ashfield constituency - Brexit Party.

Natalie Fleet, address in the Ashfield constituency - Labour Party.

Rebecca Wain, address in the Erewash constituency - Liberal Democrats

Rose Woods, address in the Ashfield constituency - Green Party

Jason Zadrozny, Sutton Road, Kirkby - Ashfield Independents Putting People Before Politics

In 2017, Ms De Piero attracked 21,285 votes, narrowly beating Conservative candidate Tony Harper, who polled 20,844 votes. Gail Turner, for the Ashfield Independents, was a distant third with 4.612 votes, ahead of UKIP's Ray Young, with 1,885, Liberal Democrat Bob Charlesworth, with 969 and Green Party candidate Arran Rangi, with 398.