Lib Dems announce man to fight for new Broadland seat
Ed FossThe man who will attempt to unseat sitting MP Keith Simpson in Norfolk's new constituency at the approaching general election has been named as Dan Roper.Ed Foss
The man who will attempt to unseat sitting MP Keith Simpson in Norfolk's new constituency at the approaching general election has been named as Dan Roper.
The Liberal Democrat party chose 36-year-old Mr Roper to stand against the Conservative's Mr Simpson in the newly created Broadland seat.
Mr Simpson is Mid Norfolk MP but will stand in the Broadland constituency, which takes in approximately 65pc of his current constituency.
According to statisticians who have examined the new seat, the Tories are favourites on the basis of 2005 polling, with the Lib Dems coming in second.
The newly formed seat stretches from the west of Fakenham to the east of Acle and means Norfolk will have nine MPs after the election instead of the current eight.
Mr Roper, who lives in Spixworth and is a senior probation officer currently on secondment to Wayland Prison, said: "I am delighted to be selected to contest the seat where I live and where my children go to school.
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"I think it will be very closely fought."
So far Labour have named Allyson Barron as their candidate, UKIP have put up their Eastern Region MEP Stuart Agnew and the Greens are expected to nominate very soon.
Other candidates may also be put forward, with the anti Rackheath eco town group Stop Norwich Urbanisation expressing interest in putting up a candidate.
