SOUTH Somerset Green Party has selected its candidate for the Yeovil Constituency ahead of the General election.

Emily McIvor, the party’s regional elections co-ordinator and a prominent 2014 European elections candidate, was chosen to stand following hustings in Yeovil and Donyatt.

Local party secretary Peter Lansdown said: “We now have five times as many members as we had in 2010 and if the rate of growth continues like this there will be some big surprises on polling day.”

The new candidate is a longstanding member of the Green Party, she grew up in Axminster and now lives in Axmouth. She has had careers in teaching and animal welfare, and is currently policy director for a leading international animal welfare charity, having specialised in EU animal protection legislation for over a decade.

She said: “I am delighted to be working with South Somerset’s exceptional Green team. We know that voters are looking for change and that our policies resonate with people from across the political spectrum.

“The Westminster elite has lost the public’s trust and Greens offer solutions.

We need to be in power, because we need to reverse the misery of Coalition cuts to benefits and public services, and to meet the threat of climate change with meaningful action.”