THE Liberal Democrats are fielding Mike Ashall as their prospective Parliamentary candidate for Redditch.

Born in Dudley, the father of three has lived in Headless Cross for 22 years and has stood as a candidate in both borough and county elections since joining the Liberal Democrats in 1992.

Mr Ashall is a regional sales manager for an international engineering company and also stood for the Birmingham Northfield constituency in the 1997 General Election.

"As Redditch has grown, the amenities and facilities, particularly for younger people and families, have not kept pace or matched the development of the town," said Mr Ashall.

"I support the Abbey Stadium initiative but as MP would want to bring pressure to bear on responsible agencies to address deficiencies in other parts of the town."

Mr Ashall has also expressed deep concern about the funding arrangements for local education authorities and the continuing shortfall in Worcestershire.

"The problem was created by the Tories and has not been addressed by the Labour Government," he said.

"While passionate about certain issues, I am a firm believer in consensus politics and loathe the confrontational approach of the other two parties which for so long has held Britain back."