The Green Party has announced its candidate to fight for the Rossendale and Darwen constituency at the next General Election.

He is 61-year-old businessman Bob Bauld, and his selection follows a ballot of party members.

Mr Bauld, a resident of the Rossendale hamlet of Water, promises 'a fair and greener' alternative for voters.

He will seek to unseat sitting Conservative MP and former Tory party chair Sir Jake Berry in the election, which is expected later this year.

Labour has selected Irwell ward councillor Andy McNae to fight the seat won by the Tories in 2019 by 9,522 votes.

Mr Bauld said: “I’m delighted to have been chosen by our members and look forward to providing voters with a real alternative at the next general election.

"I know that people feel let down by the main political parties with their broken promises and scandals.

"They want a fairer and greener approach and that is what the Green Party offers.

“We don’t see any real evidence of ‘levelling up’ in this constituency.

"What is needed is proper investment in a Green New Deal, creating thousands of jobs, tackling the cost-of-living crisis and protecting our local environment.”

Cllr Julie Adshead, a Green Party councillor for Whitewell ward on Rossendale Borough Council, said: “The Green Party is growing and thriving locally and we are so pleased to be able to field full slates of candidates in local elections, as well as a strong candidate for the upcoming general election.

"Bob will be a powerful voice for Rossendale and Darwen.”

The Green Party made record gains nationally in the local elections in May and now has almost 750 councillors across England and Wales, but still just one MP, Caroline Lucas.

Mr Bauld has recently retired following a business career in the construction, retail and hospitality sectors, where he had a long track record of building and operating successful businesses from scratch.

He has previously contested local government seats for the party in both England and Scotland.

Polling aggregation service Electoral Calculus currently predicts that if the election were held tomorrow, the Greens would more than double their vote share in Rossendale and Darwen to 5.7 per cent, from 2.4 per cent in 2019, but stand a zero per cent chance of winning.

It currently predicts Labour has a 90 per cent chance of taking Rossendale and Darwen, with Conservative Sir Jake having just a 10 per cent likelihood of retaining his job.