AN outspoken councillor has been chosen to contest David Crausby's Bolton North-east seat at the next General Election.

Bradshaw Conservative Cllr Paul Brierley believes he can snatch back the constituency for his party which held it from its creation in 1983 until the Labour landslide victory of 1997.

The 45-year-old karate expert is best known for an outburst in the council chamber just months after joining the council in 2002 when he said many council employees endured a "daily experience of bullying, victimisation, discrimination and sexual harassment," and he described the council as a "cesspit of immorality".

This led to an internal investigation by the council's chief executive who ruled there was no evidence of widespread misconduct.

Cllr Brierley has been an opponent of rises in car parking charges and has backed calls for a skate park to be created in the town centre.

He said: "I believe we can win this seat because everything is up for grabs in this constituency. We see this as a barometer seat and Labour could struggle because of their unpopularity over issues such as the Iraq war and taxation."

Cllr Brierley is married to fellow Tory councillor Diana Brierley and the couple have one son and one grandson. He works as a quantity surveyor and has a Masters degree in construction management.

David Crausby won the Bolton North-east seat in 1997 following the retirement of Tory MP Peter Thurnham.

He beat Conservative candidate Robert Wilson with a 12,000 majority which fell to around 8,500 at the 2001 General Election.

Cllr Brierley has represented the Tories in a number of ballots, including the 1999 European Election in which he was a North-west candidate.

He fought the Delyn constituency for the party in 2001 when, despite producing one of the largest swings to the Conservatives in Wales, he failed to poll enough votes to beat Labour's David Hanson.

Cllr Brierley also acted as Iain Duncan Smith's representative in the North-west during the party's leadership battle in 2001.

The Liberal Democrats are yet to choose their candidate for the seat. Mr Crausby is away on parliamentary business and could not be contacted for comment.