A CHARITY chief executive and city council leader has been selected to try and win the Salisbury seat for the Liberal Democrats at the next general election.

Victoria Charleston – a columnist for this newspaper – has been picked to fight the constituency at the next election by the Salisbury Liberal Democrats.

Chief executive of a national charity and Salisbury City Councillor, mum-of-two Victoria said she was aiming to offer a “real alternative” to current MP, Conservative John Glen.

“Since 2019, my team and I have knocked on 18,900 doors and spoken to 5,500 people,” said Victoria, who came second to Mr Glen at the last national poll in 2019.

“Time and time again the message we hear is how betrayed and let down people feel by the Conservatives locally and nationally.

“I am here to offer people a real alternative to the party of Johnson, Truss and Sunak.

“I will be a genuinely local MP who puts Salisbury and South Wiltshire first, arguing for better NHS and social care provision locally, ensuring no family has to choose between heating and eating, and real leadership to tackle the climate crisis.”

Victoria Charleston will fight the Salisbury seat for the Liberal Democrats at the next general election

Since 2019, the Lib Dems have positioned themselves as the only opposition to the Conservatives in Wiltshire, winning a string of council seats and by-elections both in the county and further afield, including overturning a 19,000 majority at the Somerton and Frome by-election, in neighbouring Somerset.

Victoria said she is standing for parliament to “offer people in and around Salisbury a genuine alternative to the chaos and corruption of the Conservative government”.

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The NHS, recruiting 8,000 GPs, addressing the cost of living crisis and tackling the climate crisis are at the forefront of her campaign, she said.

“People locally deserve better than the last 13 years of Conservative government,” she added.

“I am here to stand up for Salisbury and South Wiltshire.”

And the Salisbury seat could be closer than at recent polls, according to political prediction website, Electoral Calculus.

The site currently calculates a 50% likelihood the Conservatives win the seat, with Labour in second place, with a 43% chance of taking it. Victoria, for the Lib Dems, is third, with a 19.7% chance of victory.

To do so, Victoria would need to overcome a Tory majority of just under 20,000, secured by Mr Glen in 2019.