The Liberal Democrats claim they can offer Ilford North a "halt to hard Brexit" in June's General Election. 

The party has today announced (April 20) Richard Clare as its candidate in Theresa May's snap election on June 8. 

Mr Clare most recently ran as a contender in Redbridge Council's Roding by-election, after coming fourth in the race for the Ilford North parliamentary seat in 2015. 

He said: "I've lived in Redbridge my whole life and I'm honoured to have been selected with so much support from the party and look forward to making the case for liberalism where I grew up." 

Despite bagging just 2.3 per cent of the vote at the last General Election, Mr Clare, who lives in South Woodford, is confident he can offer an alternative to the Conservative Government's "hard Brexit". 

He added: "Forty-eight per cent of the country voted to remain in the European Union and many of the 52 per cent that voted to leave don't want this right-wing hard Brexit where Britain gets dragged out of the single market, customs union, and European Court of Human Rights. 

"If enough of those people put me back in Ilford North and other Lib Dems across the country, then we'll win and we can show the world Britain's still open for business." 

Mr Clare said his other campaign priorities will be protecting local NHS services like the A&E at King George Hospital, "taking mental health more seriously", and fighting Government cuts to Redbridge's schools.

He will face current Labour MP Wes Streeting, and his Conservative predecessor Lee Scott on June 8.