Former MP eyes Commons comeback after 19 years

Matthew Green served as Liberal Democrat MP for Ludlow between 2001 and 2005

A former MP who lost his seat in 2005 is standing to return to the Commons after nearly two decades.

Matthew Green served one term as Liberal Democrat MP for Ludlow in Shropshire from 2001, losing to Conservative Philip Dunne at the following election.

The party had selected Chris Naylor to stand in the vote expected this year, but he pulled out due to health issues.

The former MP said colleagues had told him he had the best chance of winning, "as I am the only person to have beaten the Tories in the constituency in the past 100 years."

The Ludlow seat will change its name to South Shropshire in the forthcoming poll, expanding northwards to take in the southern fringes of Shrewsbury.

Mr Dunne has represented the seat since 2005 with a strong majority, but is stepping down at the end of the current parliament.

His replacement as Conservative candidate is Stuart Anderson, who is currently the MP for Wolverhampton South West.

Different parties have come second in the past three elections: the Liberal Democrats in 2019, Labour in 2017 and UKIP in 2015.

Labour and the Greens are yet to select a candidate, while Pete Addis will stand for Reform UK.

Matthew Green was last in parliament in 2005

Mr Green said residents had told him "they want a local MP who puts South Shropshire first, and they know from my previous time as the local MP that is exactly what I would do.

"As the imperative is to get rid of this embarrassing and dishonest government, I’ve thrown my hat back into the ring,” he added.

Reflecting on the loss of his seat, Mr Green had previously told the BBC: "When it came to it, it's a gut-wrenching thing.

"It's comparable to what I envisage would be a fairly sudden sacking or a company going bust."

He said he applied for a number of jobs, before setting up his own planning and architecture consultancy.