STOURBRIDGE'S newly selected Parliamentary candidate for the Conservative Party was joined by the Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street on the campaign trail this morning as General Election campaigning got underway in earnest in the town.

Members of Stourbridge Conservative Association confirmed on Thursday that they had selected Suzanne Webb as their candidate for the forthcoming General Election on December 12 and this morning (Saturday) saw her take to the streets of Stourbridge as she prepares to battle it out with Labour's Pete Lowe.

Businesswoman and lifelong Tory Ms Webb, aged 53, hails from Sutton Coldfield and worked in a senior leadership role for a global logistics provider for 25 years.

Stourbridge News: Suzanne WebbSuzanne Webb

It was a fight to protect the green belt in her hometown, however, that led on the path to politics.

She said: "Politics has been an intuitive process – it all started with the green belt issue. I found I had an ability to resonate with local people and validate their issues."

Currently a councillor for Castle Vale in Birmingham and regional chairman of West Midlands Conservatives - she says she's keen to be the voice of Stourbridge in Parliament in these "challenging times".

She said: “I am delighted to have been chosen as the Conservative candidate for Stourbridge and can’t wait to speak to as many people as possible about my positive vision for this area and how I intend to be a local champion who campaigns on issues such as saving our precious green belt from development, working to resolve concerns over travellers’ sites and ensuring areas like Lye receive the regeneration we all want to see.”

She added: “We don’t want an election. But as things stand we simply have no choice – like the voters across Stourbridge, I want to see the result of the referendum respected and it is only by having a Conservative government with a functional majority that we can get Brexit done immediately with the Prime Minister’s great new deal."

She also paid tribute to former Tory MP Margot James who announced she would not be seeking re-election as Member of Parliament for Stourbridge in the wake of her voting history on Brexit.

She said: “Margot has been an excellent MP for Stourbridge, I wish her well for the future and thank her for all that she has done to help make this area an even better place to live work and raise a family. I know she will be missed.”

Stourbridge councillor Nic Barlow described Ms James's decision to step down as a "very sad end" but he said: "Brexit has been a real tipping point not just in Stourbridge but across the country."

He said the party was "extremely lucky" to have installed Ms Webb, who describes herself as a proud Brexiteer, as their new candidate.