by Hayley Robinson

Delighted – that is how Keith Nevols says he feels about being selected by the local Liberal Democrat party to fight for the Sittingbourne and Sheppey seat at the General Election.

The local government manager from Milton Regis was the only candidate to apply for the job, but it wasn’t a dead cert that he would get it.

Members still had to vote on whether they wanted him to represent the party. Had they not chosen him they would have had to have gone back to the drawing board.

But after giving a presentation and being questioned by members during a meeting held in Sittingbourne, Mr Nevols’ selection was approved.

It will be a challenge for him as he’s never been a councillor. However, he did stand for the Swale Central ward in the county elections last June.

Mr Nevols, of Trinity Road, said: "I feel very excited about it and I’m looking forward to getting the campaign going and getting our message out to the people as I think we’ve got some attractive policies to offer.

"The Liberal Democrats will cut taxes to stimulate the local and national economy and we stand for an open and transparent society, where the people rule the politicians, instead of the other way round.

"It’s the first time I have run for Parliament and I’ve not been a councillor before. In fact, I only moved to the area six years ago but I have been involved with politics in one way or another since the 1980s."

If chosen as the new MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey there are a couple of local issues he wants to tackle straight away.

He said: "One is the high prices commuters are having to pay now the high-speed train has been introduced.

"I think we should be encouraging more freight on the railway and giving customers a break by freezing or reducing fares.

"There are also a lot of planning applications for waste incinerators in the area which we will be keeping an eye on.

"Then there’s the regeneration plans for Sittingbourne. We need to bring in some big names and there’s not much to do in the evening. I’m aware of the plans to transform the old town cinema into a nightclub and I think it’s a good idea but I’m not sure if it is the right location for it."

If you would like to contact Keith, email him at keithnevols@hotmail.com or join his Facebook group "Keith Nevols – Liberal Democrat candidate - Sittingbourne & Sheppey".