BATTLE lines have been drawn by Furness candidates ahead of the upcoming general election.

Candidates will fight it out to be selected for the Barrow and Furness seat after MPs voted through a plan for a December 12 election.

Labour and the Conservatives have already put forward candidates, with other parties set to name theirs before official campaigning starts next month.

Barrow MP John Woodcock was last elected by a slim majority when he stood for Labour in 2017, but has since resigned from the party.

Conservative candidate Simon Fell lost out to Mr Woodcock by only 209 votes at the last election but is hoping to be elected at the third time of asking.

Labour’s Barrow-born candidate Chris Altree will run for a party that has held the constituency since 1992 before Mr Woodcock’s resignation.

Setting out his campaign, Mr Fell said an election was an opportunity to ‘get Brexit done’.

He said: “I voted to leave the EU and I think it’s essential that we elect a parliament that now makes that happen. We ignore the outcome of democratic voters at our peril.

“Locally, I’ll be campaigning on Brexit against the remainer Labour candidate, and also on protecting the shipyard and nuclear jobs from Jeremy Corbyn and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

“I’ll be making the case for fairer and better investment in our roads and rail network, and in our schools and local NHS.

“I’m not asking for special treatment, but a recognition of what Barrow and Furness brings to the UK and our unique geography.

“With the largest offshore wind farm in the world off our coast, nuclear up the road, and a tidal bay on our doorstep, I honestly believe that Barrow could be at the heart of a green revolution - but we need someone in Westminster working in the UK to deliver that.”

Labour candidate Chris Altree said: “As someone from Furness, I can’t wait to bring Labour’s message of hope for our Furness constituency.

“For families, for our NHS, for pensions, for the environment and jobs it is clear that it’s Labour who has the policies and the passion to improve the lives of all people.”

John Woodcock said he voted for an election with a ‘heavy heart’ and had favoured a confirmatory vote on the Government’s Brexit deal.

He claimed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn ‘would do more more damage to our country and our shipbuilding community than even the most severe form of Brexit’.

Boris Johnson and the Labour leader clashed in Parliament yesterday, with Mr Corbyn promising ‘real change’.