CONSERVATIVE Chris Green has officially launched his General Election campaign.

Mr Green, who has been the Bolton West MP since 2015, kicked off a five-week long campaign with local Conservative activists at Johnson Fold, Smithills.

He said: "It was great to see so many local people attend my campaign launch at Johnson Fold on Saturday.

“People on the doorstep are consistent in their message - they want to get Brexit done so we can focus on the peoples’ priorities of law & order, investing in our NHS and levelling up education funding.

“Jeremy Corbyn thinks that Labour can take Bolton West, but the support on the doorstep for both Boris Johnson and my plan for our local area says otherwise.”

The constituency is set to be one of the more hotly-contested seats of the borough, with the party winning the seat over the past half-century generally being the one to go on and form a government.

One of the potential MPs who is vying for the seat is Julie Hilling, who held the seat until being defeated by Green in 2017.

The Green Party's Liz Spencer and the Liberal Democrats' Becky Forrest have also thrown their name into the hat for the seat so far.

Mr Green currently has a majority of just 936 votes, although he will be buoyed by the news yesterday that the Brexit Party will not be standing in any of the seats the Conservatives won in 2017.

Nigel Farage stood 317 candidates down in what he said was a decision to "put country before party."

Bolton West, which includes the areas of Atherton, Westhoughton, Blackrod, Horwich, Heaton, Lostock and Smithills, was first contested as a constituency in 1950.

Earlier last week, Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn stated that he believes Labour can win Bolton West, telling The Bolton News: "I am very confident we can win Bolton West. We lost control of Bolton Council which I regret.

"I can’t give you the individual reason why people voted the way they did.

"I’m very confident however that we can win the Parliamentary seat in Bolton and that we will win back the council when we have the next opportunity."

Chris responded by saying: "I’m glad to hear Mr Corbyn cares as he pops up from London.

"The reception I am getting on the doorstep across the constituency has been really positive."