THE Labour Party has chosen its Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Torridge and West Devon — Siobhan Strode.

Mrs Strode was given overwhelming support by members at the constituency annual meeting held in Holsworthy on October 19.

Mrs Strode is a local councillor on Great Torrington Town Council, self-employed copy writer and mother of two young boys, who has said her passion and drive is to improve the local area through tireless campaigning.

With a general election looming, the Labour Party will be hoping to cement itself as the main rivals for the Attorney General (Conservative) MP Geoffrey Cox’s seat by selecting Mrs Strode as its candidate. 

Mrs Strode is most well known in Great Torrington at the heart of the constituency where she is school governor, part-time teacher and active local councillor.

She has been active in numerous campaigns in the area, most recently challenging holiday hunger through her role as chair of the Devon Area Unite Community Branch.

Her background in teaching has meant she has led from the front organising the campaign for fair funding for schools across Torridge.

As well as leading the campaign locally, Mrs Strode took a delegation to Parliament stressing how important it was that all children have access to good quality education. 

Mrs Strode said: “I am thrilled to be selected as Labour’s candidate here in Torridge and West Devon’.

She added: “My top priorities are the environment, the NHS and social care, and building an economy that works for the many here in Torridge and West Devon.”

The environment has always been core to Mrs Strode’s campaigning and she attended the Labour Party conference this year to fight for the Green New Deal to become national party policy.

“The South West and Torridge and West Devon in particular has the potential to reap the benefits of the Green New Deal as green industrial growth in sustainable energy such as offshore wind, tidal and wave replaces the fossil fuels we import from abroad.”