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Jane Edbrooke

A FORMER Basingstoke student is looking to make her mark in politics after being selected to contest the East Hampshire seat for the Labour Party at the next general election.

Jane Edbrooke, 26, whose family home is in Wooldridge Crescent, RAF Odiham, wants to improve Labour's standing in East Hampshire, where they came third in the 2005 election behind the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats with only 16 per cent of the vote.

Michael Mates, current Conservative MP for East Hampshire, will stand down at the next general election, leaving the seat that he has held since the constituency was created in 1983.

Miss Edbrooke said: "I am going to give it my best shot to increase the share of the vote for the Labour Party.

"I hope to bring a fresh perspective to the campaign and to talk about issues that are important to local people, such as public transport and affordable housing, which particularly affect the young and elderly."

Jan Treacher, chairwoman of the constituency Labour Party, said: "We welcome Jane's selection. She brings local knowledge and massive enthusiasm to the campaign. I think she will be a real asset to the local party."

Miss Edbrooke went to Robert May's School, in Odiham, before studying four A-levels, including politics, at Queen Mary's College, in Basingstoke. And she credited QMC with fuelling her passion for politics.

She said: "They had some fantastic teachers there and a great politics unit."

Miss Edbrooke, who currently works for Waltham Forest Council as a political adviser, said that young people do not have a voice in East Hampshire.

She said: "Most young people are being priced out of their homes at the moment. They cannot afford to live in the area where they grew up."

Damian Hinds, a 37-year-old adviser for the leisure industry, is the Conservative candidate to replace Michael Mates at the next election.

Adam Carew, a 36-year-old part-time lecturer, will represent the Liberal Democrats.

4:13pm Monday 3rd December 2007

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