LOCAL Labour party chiefs are just a fortnight away from choosing the person to contest the Chorley seat at the next General Election.

A short-list of candidates has been drawn up - one of which will be picked at a selection meeting early next month.

The five left in the running out of around 100 applicants for the town's parliamentary Labour candidate are: Lindsay Hoyle, Joan Humble, Christine Jackson, Ray McManus and Tony Watmough

Deputy leader of Chorley Borough Council, Lindsay Hoyle, is chairman of the economic development and tourism sub-committee.

He runs printing company Screen Arts in Adlington and lives in Anderton. He is chairman of Chorley Rugby League Club and his father Doug Hoyle is an MP in Warrington.

Mrs Joan Humble, a Lancashire county councillor since 1985, has been chairman of the social services committee since 1990. She represents Preston central east ward and lives in Ribbleton.

Self-employed local researcher and consultant Christine Jackson, of Millfield Road, Chorley, has been a member of the Labour Party for 30 years.

Born in Birmingham, she is a past chairman of Chorley Labour Party's women's section and a former national chairman of the National Council for Civil Liberties, now Liberty.

Ray McManus was candidate at the 1992 General Election when he lost to Conservative Den Dover who was re-elected with a majority of just over 4,000.

He is a full time official with the Transport and General union based in Wigan and lives in Skelmersdale.

Former deputy leader of Chorley Borough Council between 1989-95, Tony Watmough works as a development executive with Bolton and Bury Training and Enterprise Council and now lives in Whitefield. He was the Labour parliamentary candidate in Chorley in 1987.

Adrian Lowe, constituency chairman and branch secretary, said the party was very pleased with the quality of the candidates nominated and that they are all from the locality.

He said: "We are expecting that the Conservatives will run to their full term, but in our view the election can't come soon enough and we want to get a candidate in place to act as a focal point, although the party locally has done a lot of work campaigning and gearing itself up."

The selection meeting takes place on February 8. The decision will need to be ratified by Labour's national executive committee.

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