Will Straw to seek selection in Rossendale and Darwen

There were rumours last week that Will Straw was seeking to follow in his father’s footsteps and seek selection as a Labour PPC in Rossendale and Darwen. Straw told the Lancashire Telegraph:

“The final selection is a matter for the local party but fighting, and hopefully winning, the seat for Labour and representing it in Parliament would be a satisfying and rewarding challenge.

“I know East Lancashire very well, spending a lot of time there with my father as I grew up. I am a Blackburn Rovers fan.“

“I am talking to people in the constituency party to see if I am the right candidate for a seat suffering greatly under this government. Representing it in Parliament would be a really serious job. The main issues are investment and jobs.”

However when we spoke to him this morning, Will played down the speculation and told LabourList:

“There’s not yet a formal selection process so at the moment I’m just talking to local members about whether I’d be the right candidate to take on Jake Berry and win the seat back from the Tories.”

We’ll be covering the selection for Rossendale and Darwen – as well as other seats – once the timetable for selections is known.