Newcastle city councillor Thom Campion announces intention to stand as parliamentary candidate for Berwick

Thom Campion, who currently represents the Castle ward on Newcastle City Council, has announced he will contest the seat for the Liberal Democrats at the next election – due to take place next year.

Coun Campion, who is originally from Winchester but moved to the North East after university, hoped to retake the seat for the party after it was held by Lord Alan Beith from 1973 until 2015.

The 25-year-old also explained why he chosen to challenge for the Berwick seat, despite hailing from the south and serving as a councillor in Newcastle.

He said: “I don’t want people to think it is for career reasons – if I wanted to be an MP I wouldn’t be a Liberal Democrat! I’m not from the area, but I love Berwick.

“Berwick was the first place I got really stuck in as a Liberal Democrat in the North East.

“It’s a fantastic area with some of the most wonderful people in the North East. It is, I think, the most beautiful constituency in the country.

“When I moved up to the North East, I met my partner who was working with the Berwick Lib Dems and spent lots of weekends in lots of small villages campaigning. I just absolutely fell in love with the area.”

Coun Campion also felt constituents had been “let down” by current MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who has served since 2015.

In particular, he pointed to the government’s failure to properly dual the A1 between Morpeth and Ellingham.

He continued: “People need to make sure their voices are heard loud and clear in Westminster. We have all been waiting for the A1 to be dualled properly for years.

“At the end of the day, Anne-Marie Trevelyan was a minister in government and she didn’t get it done. I think it’s really important that it is a key campaign for anybody, but there is so much more to the area than that.

“It needs new jobs and to utilise the green energy revolution. We are seeing so much opportunity – I really want to get that opportunity into the constituency and show off the beautiful area it is.

“I believe that the Liberal Democrats and I, working together with the people of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Alnwick and our villages, can build a better, brighter and fairer future for everyone in our communities.”

The government set two previous deadlines for a decision on dualling the A1 last year, but failed to meet either of them.

A final decision on whether the project will go ahead is now expected in September.

During her short term as Transport Minister under Liz Truss, Ms Trevelyan called on the government to deliver on its promise to dual the A1.

In March, 16 parish councils across Northumberland wrote to the MP and called on her to press Mark Harper, her successor as Transport Secretary, to give the green light for construction work to begin on the 13-mile stretch of road.

Guy Renner-Thompson, chairman of Belford Parish Council and a Bamburgh county councillor, said: "Anne-Marie can use this letter as another tool to bash heads down in Whitehall to get the project underway.”