THE Liberal Democrats have chosen Denis Healy to be their parliamentary candidate in Beverley and Holderness for the forthcoming General Election.
Mr Healy is best-known in local political circles for running against Labour's Diana Johnson in the Hull North constituency in the last two General Elections
In 2005 he finished second and over 7,000 votes behind Ms Johnson in a contest featuring eight candidates.
Five years later, with the Lib Dems making a determined effort to win the seat, he came within a whisker of causing an upset.
Having exchanged verbal blows at an earlier hustings event, the pair clashed again at the election count in the City Hall following a tense recount.
Eventually, Ms Johnson emerged victorious but with a much-reduced majority of just 641.
In her acceptance speech, the Labour MP turned her fire on Mr Healy, telling him: "I don't do personal slurs and that's all you have done."
The two candidates did not shake hands with one another and a further exchange followed as they left the City Hall stage.
Afterwards, Mr Healy denied making any personal attacks on his Labour opponent, claiming instead his party had only ever targeted her track record as an MP.
Now he is setting his sights on the Beverley and Holderness constituency where Conservative Graham Stuart is the current MP.
In 2010 Mr Stuart secured a comfortable near-13,000 majority over his nearest rival Lib Dem Craig Dobson.
Mr Healy said he had "returned to the day job" after the 2010 campaign, working as a business development manager with the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.
He said: "Unlike some of the career politicians you hear about, the rest of us have to work to pay the bills so I went back to working with engineers and apprentices in the region to help them achieve their career goals."
Mr Healy said while the political landscape had changed over the last five years, he was already anticipating the challenge of a new campaign.
"The fact we finished second in Beverley and Holderness last time is a sign that support for the Liberal Democrats is there," he said.
"As it turned out, the number of votes we won was almost exactly the same number I got in Hull North."
Mr Healy said his campaign would be focusing on the "stronger economy and fairer society" that Lib Dem ministers in the coalition government had created.
He said: "I am looking forward to campaigning in the constituency on how the Liberal Democrats will build on these achievements in the coming parliament if we are returned to power.
"The old excuse of the Liberal Democrats never being able to achieve power has been laid to rest by the last five years of coalition government and by the real differences we have made."
Four candidates in the runningFOUR candidates have so far been confirmed as standing in the Beverley and Holderness parliamentary contest.
Along with Lib Dem Denis Healy, the line-up includes sitting Conservative MP Graham Stuart, Labour's Margaret Pinder and UKIP challenger Gary Shores.
Mr Stuart has held the seat for the Tories since 2005 when he took over the reins from previous Conservative MP Jim Cran.
The constituency covers a wide geographical area, taking in the coastal towns of Hornsea and Withernsea as well as Beverley and Hedon.
UKIP supporters will be hoping to capitalise on the party's success in last year's European elections in Yorkshire and the Humber and the more recent election of the first-ever UKIP councillor on East Riding Council after a by-election win in Bridlington.
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