A LONG standing Brentwood and County Councillor has been announced as the Lib Dem candidate for next year’s General Election.

David Kendall, a familiar face around the town, is standing for the Brentwood and Ongar seat, and will hope to wrestle the seat from incumbent Tory Eric Pickles.

Mr Kendall stood as the Lib Dem candidate during the 2010 election, finishing second to Mr Pickles by nearly 17,000 votes. Mr Pickles, who has held the seat since 1992, is also the cabinet member for communities and local government.

Mr Kendall, who has lived and worked in Brentwood for over 25 years, said: “I am delighted to have been selected to fight the Brentwood & Ongar seat for the Liberal Democrats.”

He added: “Running my own small business in the heart of the constituency I know what it is like to have a proper job well away from the Westminster bubble and working locally I have a good understanding of the day to day issues that are really concerning Brentwood and Ongar residents.

“I now want to take my years of experience as a local councillor and campaigner onto the national level and be a champion for all the residents of Brentwood and Ongar at Westminster.

“I believe that Eric Pickles and the Tories have taken residents for granted and ignored many of their concerns for far too long, it’s time for a change.”