A FORMER schoolteacher from Ledbury has been selected as Herefordshire Green Party's prospective candidate to contest the General Election.

This will be the first time that Pippa Bennett, aged 31, has ever stood as a candidate, although she has been an active member of the local Green Party for some years.

Mrs Bennett will contest the Leominster seat, which includes Ledbury and Bromyard.

She said she joined the party after hearing an election broadcast which convinced her that the Greens offered a real and positive alternative to the conventional political choices.

"I think a lot of people's understanding of the Green Party is that it's the environmental party but, although it looks at environmental issues, it's also about how we live and run our economy," said Mrs Bennett, who is married to the Ledbury Poetry Festival manager Dr Charles Bennett.

She said the party's policies reflect an integrated approach that leads to social, economic and environmental well-being.

"We don't deal with the environment at the expense of the economy because you can't have a thriving economy if the environment isn't thriving," said Mrs Bennett. "But you also have to look at how changes affect people's lives."

She said she would begin her campaigning once a date for the election has been set and would be talking to people about rural issues such as farming and transport.

"One of things I want to stress is that looking after the countryside is not about saying no to things," she said.

"People often think we want to restrict them doing things but we want to find alternative ways of doing things.

"Again, because we're a rural constituency, transport issues are different to urban areas and people are often very dependent on cars and so they shouldn't be punished for using them."

n David Gillett, from Hereford, who is chairman of the Herefordshire Green Party, has been selected as the candidate for the Hereford constituency.