THE Morecambe and Lunesdale seat will be contested by five candidates at the upcoming General Election:

Conservative:

David Morris, of Heysham, has been the MP for the constituency since 2010.

Born in Leigh, Greater Manchester, he was educated in the Bahamas and Hong Kong, on account of his father working in the shipping industry.

Mr Morris, 53, used to own a chain of hairdressing salons in Greater Manchester.

In addition, he is a former session musician, having played for Duran Duran and Whitesnake, among others. He also wrote songs for Pete Waterman.

He described the upcoming vote as the “Brexit election”.

Labour:

Lizzi Collinge lives in Heysham with her husband and children.

She spent much of her early working career in the catering industry, at companies such as Costa and Caffè Nero. She later worked in the NHS, supporting the relatives of people with psychosis and bipolar, as well as for Lancashire County Council in substance abuse commissioning.

Mrs Collinge, 37, has been a county councillor for Lancaster East since 2016.

She said she wanted the Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency to have a “really good, local MP”.

Liberal Democrat:

Owen Lambert lives in Torrisholme, Morecambe.

Born at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, the 21-year-old was brought up in Morecambe.

He graduated from Edge Hill University with a degree in history and politics earlier this year.

In 2019, he also ran as a candidate in the town council and city council elections, missing out on becoming a town councillor for the Bare South East Parish Ward by just 23 votes.

Mr Lambert felt his party would be the one “taking the most votes off the Conservatives.”

Green:

Dr Chloe Buckley, of Bare, Morecambe, is a lecturer in English at Manchester Metropolitan University.

She was formerly a teacher at Morecambe Community High School (now Morecambe Bay Academy) and The Queen Katherine School, in Kendal.

Dr Buckley, 37, who completed her PhD at Lancaster University in 2016, has been involved with the Green Party for around eight years. She said she wanted to give constituents the “choice” to vote for what they believed in.

Independent:

Darren Clifford, 48, previously worked in the Royal Army Medical Corps as a combat medical technician.

Mr Clifford, who lives in Skerton, Lancaster, also worked in military nursing and psychiatry. He is a Lancaster City Councillor and former cabinet member.

He resigned from the Labour Party earlier this year after 33 years, citing reasons such as anti-Semitism and the influence of campaign-group Momentum.

He said the constituency had “many challenges but also “many opportunities”.