This is part of a series of articles. In the run-up to the election, we will be profiling all of Herefordshire's prospective parliamentary candidates. Here, we take a look at who is in the running for the Liberal Democrats.

The Liberal Democrats were the surprise package the last time Herefordshire went to the polls, in the local elections of May last year, in which they picked up five council seats to become the second largest party locally.

All but one of their current 12 council seats are in Hereford and Ross-on-Wye, both in the Hereford and South Herefordshire constituency currently held by Jesse Norman for the Conservatives.

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In fact the LibDems boast the county’s only non-Tory MP since the war in Paul Keetch, MP for Hereford from 1997 to 2010 (when the seat was tweaked and renamed).

On July 4, Hereford and South Herefordshire is being contested for the party by Dan Powell, Hereford born and bred and currently the city’s deputy mayor.

He was among the fresh intake of LibDem county councillors last May, having already served as a city councillor for four years. Away from politics he works with his father in the family flooring business.

“I don’t believe anyone stands up for young working locals any more,” he said. “We are constantly squeezed and rarely see any real or practical changes in our county.”

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He and party colleagues back the restarted project to build a bypass around west of the city – “so families along the A49 no longer have to live in highly polluted homes, businesses can thrive and our city can become a nice place to visit again”, he said.

In North Herefordshire meanwhile, the LibDems are being represented by Cat Hornsey, like Mr Powell a city councillor, and who also volunteers for a Herefordshire food sharing group.

She feels rural parts of the county, where her roots are, are often ignored and underfunded, which she would like the opportunity to change.

“Many people say they are fed up with the little money that comes from the Conservative government, and with our local taxes being wasted on projects,” she said.

“We would rather it is spent on our area, providing local housing for our children, repairing roads and on public transport.”

Polling will take place on July 4 from 7am to 10pm. For the first time at a UK general election, voters are required to produce photo ID in order to vote.