THE four election candidates for Wyre Forest have been confirmed.

Labour candidate Robin Lunn, Conservative Mark Garnier, Liberal Democrat Shazu Miah and the Green Party's John Davis will all face off in the snap general election on December 12.

Wyre Forest Labour's Robin Lunn, who has been a councillor on Worcestershire County Council for 10 years, said he was delighted to be representing the party in this "most crucial of general elections".

He said: "Politics has reached the stage where there is no such thing as a safe seat anymore.

"After a decade of austerity, turmoil and uncertainty, both Wyre Forest and the wider country deserve a happier and more positive start to the 2020s.

"I believe that I can win this constituency for Labour because, without any doubt, our positive policies across health, education, the economy, housing and the Green New Deal will address the extreme inequalities in this country perpetuated by successive Conservative governments since 2010 under the smoke screen of austerity.

"We all deserve better.”

Mr Lunn has worked in Kidderminster for nearly six years as an independent financial planner.

Green candidate John Davis, who has lived in Wyre Forest for 12 years, said it was really important for everyone to have the opportunity to vote Green next month.

"We're finding that our support base is growing massively since awareness of the environment is coming to the forefront now," said Mr Davis.

"It's an uphill struggle to get people to take environmental issues seriously, but people are much more aware now.

"At the last local election, Green Party member Vicky Caulfield was elected to the district council, which shows that people in the area are showing greater concern for the climate crisis."

He added: "I care passionately about the area. I see people on the streets in the Wyre Forest and I think what are we doing about it? We see in the newspaper that children's centres are closing and these cuts are predominately affecting women.

"Everyone says we'll spend a huge amount of money but people say things for the sake of an election.

"We need someone with the conviction to push these things through and I believe I am that person."

This will be the 5th time Mark Garnier is standing for MP, but the Conservative candidate says he is not complacent going into this election.

"Our campaign is under way and we've got lots of people on board helping to get our message out there," said Mr Garnier.

"What we have got to do is to make sure people in Wyre Forest have got strong long-term jobs and in order to do that we have to attract businesses into the district.

"Secondly we have to make sure that school leavers are skilled to meet the challenges of those jobs.

"Another priority of mine is in bringing local infrastructure. I have been instrumental in the last nine years in securing funding for the railway station and we have done well to get a business plan for the town centre funding.

"I think we need to be more ambitious in how much money we say we want for our local hospitals and education funding remains incredibly important."

The Lib Dem's chosen candidate Shazu Miah, who is chairman on Wyre Forest District Council, says he is the only voice for people who want to remain in the European Union.

Mr Miah said: "There were 15,000 people who voted to remain in the referendum and I'm sure that figure has changed as people have grown fed up with the whole thing and want it to go away.

"Brexit is bad for all of us. There are 5,000 jobs in Wyre Forest that are reliant on us being in the EU.

"By working for the council I have seen the really difficult decisions we are having to make due to a lack of funding from central government and that has been the case since the referendum."

He added: "Wyre Forest is a safe Conservative seat in a lot of people's eyes but I just think people haven't been doing enough.

"I am fully invested in the Wyre Forest. I've lived here my whole life and I know exactly what people are concerned about."

All four have been invited to upcoming hustings events in Bewdley and Kidderminster, the details of which will be confirmed in coming weeks.