The Liberal Democrats have now announced their candidate to challenge Conservative Sir Oliver Heald in the North East Hertfordshire constituency.

Nicky Shepard, who works in marketing, also stood for the Lib Dems in yesterday’s Cambridgeshire County Council elections, where she lost to Labour’s Joan Whitehead in her home city Cambridge’s Abbey ward.

She joins a field in North East Herts now made up of herself, incumbent Conservative Sir Oliver Heald and Labour’s Doug Swanney.

She said: “I am honoured to have been selected to represent the Liberal Democrats in North East Herts.

“This is such a crucial time for our nation and I am excited at the possibility of serving the people of North East Herts as their MP.

“I’m really looking forward to a great campaign with an amazing team.”

Letchworth, Baldock and District Liberal Democrats chairman Barry Neale said: “This is what Theresa May has called the ‘Brexit election’, but it is also an opportunity for voters to help create a real and credible opposition to the Tories.

“Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party are in the doldrums and becoming increasingly unelectable, and a big swing to the Liberal Democrats is a strong possibility.

“Here in North East Hertfordshire we have an excellent candidate in Nicky Shepard – who, with our help, can inflict real damage to the election chances of the Tory Sir Oliver Heald.”

Mrs Shepard is set to launch her campaign on Tuesday.

Sir Oliver Heald, from Royston – whose majority two years ago was 19,080 – has held North East Herts since the seat was created in 1997. He was previously MP for North Hertfordshire from 1992.

Labour candidate Doug Swanney, from Letchworth, also stood without success in the county council elections yesterday.