Battle lines drawn in key Cornish seat

Camborne and Redruth were once wealthy mining towns but now have higher levels of deprivation

The political battle lines have been drawn for the Cornish constituency of Camborne and Redruth.

George Eustice, the former Conservative MP, had a majority of 8,700 at the 2019 general election.

With the high-profile member not running in this election, Labour said it was "focusing" on the constituency.

The towns are both former mining areas that were once wealthy from tin and copper production, but now have higher than average levels of deprivation.

Mr Eustice won the seat in 2010, narrowly beating the Liberal Democrats by just 66 votes, and since then he has increased his majority.

In the 2019 election, he secured 53.1% of the vote, with Labour finishing second with 35.9% of the vote and the Lib Dems third with 7%.

Conservative candidate Connor Donnithorne said new blood was needed in Parliament

Connor Donnithorne, the Conservative candidate for Camborne and Redruth, said change was afoot with the departure of Mr Eustice.

Mr Donnithorne is a Cornwall councillor representing Redruth Central, Carharrack and St Day.

He said, if elected, he would focus on growing business in the county and providing more housing for local people.

"However, people vote there's going to be change... I want to thank George Eustice for the 14 years he served our community," he said.

"As a 27-year-old who is raising my family locally, and runs my own fish and chip shop, I'm getting stuck in because we need new blood in parliament."

• Live: Follow the latest news about the UK general election

• Poll tracker: How do parties compare?

• Voting: Who can I vote for in the general election?

• Chris Mason: Reassurance from Labour with a dash of paranoia

• General election 2024: All BBC stories and analysis

Labour candidate Perran Moon said there was "no question" his party was targeting the seat

Perran Moon, the Labour candidate for Camborne and Redruth, said "we're absolutely not complacent".

"But the doorstep is looking pretty strong at the moment," he added.

He said he would concentrate on creating jobs in renewable energy.

"We have huge opportunities with our tin, lithium and renewables businesses, all of which will help us transition our economy away from fossil fuels, while creating hundreds of new, high skilled, well-paid jobs," he said.

Cornwall councillor Thalia Marrington is standing for the Lib Dems

Thalia Marrington, the Lib Dem candidate for Camborne and Redruth, who is also a Cornwall councillor, said her focus would be on affordable housing, green issues and reducing violence against women.

She said she also wanted to be elected "by being honest with people".

"Everyone is so sick on the doorstep of any politician... we've got to earn trust again," she said.

Asked about the potential for tactical voting, she said: "I don't like that because it's a negative way of voting, I would love people to vote positively for somebody they really want."

Tactical voting happens when a voter abandons the party or candidate they prefer, and votes for one with a better chance of winning locally.

Catherine Hayes is standing for the Green Party

Catherine Hayes, a town councillor in Hayle, is standing in the seat for the Green Party.

The party is campaigning on the message of "speaking up for social justice, a better deal for local communities and meaningful action on the accelerating climate emergency".

"I think we're standing up for what people actually need," Ms Hayes said.

"We are really looking at the housing crisis properly... and looking at water companies - they need to be bought back into public ownership."

Reform UK candidate Roger Tarrant said many people feel "politically homeless"

Roger Tarrant, Reform UK's candidate for Camborne and Redruth, said many people felt "politically homeless".

"The other parties seem to all want the same thing - open borders, net zero, more and more stifling regulations which are harming business," he said.

"Reform is against all that."

Paul Holmes, who is standing for the Liberal Party, said he wanted more young people in work.

"We need apprentices, not Mickey Mouse university degrees," he said.

He said Brexit had been "wasted so far" and the UK should trade with the Commonwealth and invest in its "traditional industries".

Robert Hawkins, standing for the Socialist Labour Party, said he wanted the UK to be "completely" separated from the EU and the party would look at abolishing VAT.

He said the tax was "totally iniquitous" as "the very rich man pays the same as the very poor man".

"We'd look after the working classes, not the bosses," he said.