Claire Leigh will be fighting the Tonbridge and Malling Constituency for the Labour party at the General Election in May.

Born in Bidborough, she lived in Tonbridge until February, when her work took her to London.

She has been an active member of the Labour Party for 10 years and was until recently, chairman of the Tonbridge and Malling branch of the Labour Party.

Miss Leigh said: ‘I was inspired to stand as a candidate after seeing the damage that Coalition policies are doing to families in the South East and across the country.”

She is particularly interested in women’s rights and tackling poverty, both in Britain and overseas.

She runs the Labour Campaign for International Development – an affiliate society within the Labour Party - and is also on the governing committee of the Fabian Women’s Network, which seeks to promote women’s participation in public life.

She works for the Oversea Development Institute, a London-based charity, where she advises governments of post-conflict countries in the developing world.

Miss Leigh, 32, said that locally she would be addressing voters’ concerns about rising rail fares and the preponderence of pawn and low-cost shops in Tonbridge High Street.

She was educated at Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Girls and has a degree in history from Cambridge, and a second degree in international relations from Oxford University.

She previously stood for the party in last year’s Kent County Council elections, where she polled 1,104 votes in the Tunbridge Wells East Division, behind the Tories and UKIP.