A long-standing Halton councillor and former mayor has thrown his hat in the ring to be Runcorn and Helsby's next MP.

Chris Rowe, who represents Beechwood and Heath for the Liberal Democrats, has been chosen as the party’s candidate to run for the new parliamentary constituency.

The married farther-of-two has been a member of Halton Council since 2003 and served as Mayor of Halton from 2021-22. He works in HR, most recently for the NHS. He grew up in Weston Point and Higher Runcorn and attended The Heath Comprehensive School.

He told the LDRS: “The Liberal Democrats offer a real alternative by having distinctive policies which aim to provide a fair deal, a fair deal that would be good for Runcorn and Helsby constituents. I believe people see a role for the Liberal Democrats as a centre party.”

The country goes to the polls on July 4, with voters in Runcorn set to have their say on who represents them in what is a completely new seat.

Runcorn and Helsby includes parts of the former Weaver Vale and Halton parliamentary constituencies, which both no longer exist following a nationwide boundary shake-up designed to create constituencies which all broadly have the same number of eligible voters.

He added: “I see the boundary change as something positive, particularly for Runcorn, and it's the boundary change that has prompted me to stand.

"I feel that my recent experience as leader of the opposition at Halton, being Mayor of Halton and my current experience as opposition spokesperson on the Liverpool City Region transport committee means I have more to offer than at the last election."

Mr Rowe said that if elected, he would work to address issues faced by Runcorn and Helsby constituents, but added: "The fact that the constituency is very varied, ranging from farming, forest, historic, urban and industrial means there are no ‘one size fits all’ answers".

Prospective candidates have until tomorrow (Friday) to register for the election, with Labour, The Lib Dems, Reform, Conservatives, The Liberal Party, The Green Party and Social Democratic Party already registered for the contest.

The LDRS will be running interviews with the candidates over the coming weeks.

Voters are also reminded they must bring photo ID to the polling booth when the country goes to the polls on July 4.