THE battle to represent Newbury in Parliament is finally underway after the Prime Minister announced this week the UK general election will take place on Tuesday, May 6.
In 2005 Conservative candidate Richard Benyon defeated Liberal Democrat MP David Rendel with a majority of 3,460, unseating a man who had stormed to power in a by-election victory with 65 per cent of the vote in 1993.
Benyon had gone head to head with Rendel twice in the election stakes before triumphing in 2005, but the two foes had faced off across the floor of Newbury District Council many times prior to that.
Rendel had been fairly bullish about securing his fourth consecutive term despite the slender advantage of his 2001 victory, but the weight of history told as Newbury returned to Conservative control.
In Newbury’s history there have been 11 different Members of Parliament, and of those, all but three have been Conservatives, which shows the scale of the challenge ahead of those lining up to take on the big two.
The total period served by either a Liberal or Liberal Democrat MP in Newbury is 17 years, Conservative MPs have served for the remaining 108 years.
Thames Valley Police operation consultant Hannah Cooper has picked up the Labour reins from Oscar Van Nooijen, who was just 22 when he ran.
Despite polling one of the lowest Labour votes in the country, measured by the swing by voters away from the party, Nooijen’s campaign was not the disaster it initially appeared, and he made a lot of friends during his firebrand campaign.
UKIP have recently opened their first branch in Newbury, and will be looking to build on David McMahon’s fourth placed finish in 2005 with representative David Black taking up the challenge of splitting the current two party monopoly.
Conspicuous by their absence in the last two elections, the Green party have returned to the Newbury arena with voluntary firefighter Adrian Hollister, and with the environment playing an increasingly important part of modern day politics Hollister is hoping to make his mark.
Of the two independent candidates who stood at the last election, neither have returned, but local retail association chairman Brian Burgess has thrown his hat in the ring in recent weeks hoping to be the voice of voters disillusioned with modern politicians.
It’s not too late for anyone wishing to stand as an MP in Newbury, the closing date for nominations is 4pm on Tuesday, April 20, upon paying a £500 deposit which is regained upon winning 5 per cent of the total vote along with entry forms, anyone can enter the race.
Five years ago local issues such as the construction of a Newbury cinema and anti-social behaviour were the primary focus of the various campaign trails, but with the MP expense scandal and cash-for-influence lobbying claims still fresh in many minds, after a bad year for politics national issues may dominate in the coming weeks.
With a hung parliament becoming a real possibility, the people of Newbury could play a crucial role in one of the most historic and important elections in British history.

Conservative - Richard Benyon
ELECTED as Newbury's MP with a majority of 3,460, Conservative Richard Benyon ended a 12-year Liberal Democrat stranglehold in 2005.
The 49-year-old was born, brought up and educated in West Berkshire, before serving in the army. Upon leaving he qualified as a Chartered Surveyor and went on to run his family’s farming and property business. Mr Benyon was a district councillor in West Berkshire in the 1990s for what was then Newbury District Council (now West Berkshire Council).
He was elected as Member of Parliament for Newbury on the third attempt in 2005 and was a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee which carried out a detailed inquiry into the 7/7 bombings.
Married to Zoe, with whom he has two sons, Louis and Jimmy, he also has three sons, Harry, Thomas and Freddie, from his previous marriage.
They live at Englefield where he says he enjoys anything to do with the outdoors, even watching Reading Football Club.

Liberal Democrats - David Rendel
DAVID Rendel has been active in Newbury politics since 1987, beginning as a district councillor he won the local by-election in 1993 with a huge majority of 22,055.
MP for Newbury for 12 years until Richard Benyon defeated him in 2005, this will be the 60-year-old’s seventh campaign in the constituency.
Before entering politics he spent time volunteering in Africa, and has also worked for Shell International, British Gas and Esso.
Educated at Eton College, Magdalen College, Oxford and St Cross College, Oxford, Rendel was a member of the University of Oxford boat race crew of 1974.
Mr Rendel considers himself “a lucky man”, and says he never had a specific interest in school or college, but this generalist attitude is what led him into politics, a belief he could get involved in any area and help people out.
He currently lives in Hopwood Green with his wife Sue and has three sons.

UKIP - David Black
A MEMBER of UKIP since its creation in 1993, 71-year-old retired teacher David Black is still passionate about education and has been a staunch supporter of many campaigns to abolish student fees.
Born in Luton, he spent his youth in north London, attending a school in Stamford Hill.
After leaving grammar school he served in the army and the Ministry of Defence for fifteen years, and then spent 28 years in international insurance broking.
His last job was teaching A-Level Geography for eight years at St Michael's School, Burghclere near Newbury, and he now spends his time writing books on history and visiting his six married children and the twenty one grandchildren.
Mr Black is a widower of 10 years, and has lived in Berkshire since 1978, he says he is simply an ordinary citizen hoping to affect change and target those who have given up on politics.

Green Party - Adrian Hollister
GREEN party candidate Adrian Hollister, aged 38, is used to putting out flames in his role as voluntary firefighter, and he says dousing political blazes is next on his agenda.
“I would like to see a move from the aggressive confrontational politics seen in Westminster to one of co-operative politics.” he says.
The married father-of-three lives in Chaddleworth, and has stood as Green Party candidate previously for the Downlands ward in the 2004 council elections, campaigning heavily on local environmental and community schemes.
A classical music fan by heart he has been quick to embrace modern trends, and is active on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook, where he has built something of a cult following.
A very busy man outside of politics, he is treasurer of a local youth group, and lists his interests as renovating Landrovers, spending time with his kids, chickens, dogs, and pushing green technologies and sustainable living.

Labour - Hannah Cooper
THE only female standing for election in Newbury in 2010 is 36-year-old prospectve Labour candidate Hannah Cooper.
She works full-time as a Thames Valley Police Operation Consultant, and despite this being her debut in a Newbury general election she has previously stood as a Labour councillor in Spelthorne’s Ashford Ward and in Newbury’s Greenham Ward, and is no stranger to local politics.
After attending school in Beckenham, Kent, she spent time at Nottingham Trent University, after which she worked as a VAT inspector.
Ms Cooper has been a Newbury resident for three years, and when not hard at work she enjoys walks in the countryside and visiting places of historical interest, she also enjoys going to the cinema and socialising with her friends, and says her favourite film of recent times is Slumdog Millionaire.
She also volunteers at the Community Furniture Project Centre in Newbury.

Independent - Brian Burgess
INDEPENDENT candidate Brian Burgess, aged 60, was born and schooled in Marlborough, Wiltshire, before he moved to Newbury later in life.
He has been married to wife Karen for 37 years, and together they have two sons, Andrew, 35 and Paul, 33.
Living on Andover Road in Newbury he works as an IT consultant specialising in the internet, and is also chair of the Newbury Retail Association, making him a recognisable figure in Newbury’s busy market place, a key area of his campaign and one he intends to fully exploit.
He says anger (his and others) at West Berkshire council is the main reason behind his decision to run as an independent, and although having never campaigned to become MP before, Mr Burgess stood for district councillor in Newbury in 1998, winning 57 votes.
In his spare time he enjoys gardening, and enjoys reading and learning the history of Newbury and it’s surrounding areas.

Apolitical democrats - David Yates
David Yates is standing for the Apolitical Democrats in the Newbury General Election 2010.
He joined the army as an apprentice at age 16. He has lived locally since he first came to Newbury with the army in 1981. Although trained in the army as a land surveyor, he currently works as a builder.
The 48-year-old, is married with 4 children, 2 of whom still go to school locally. David is an active parent governor at their school.
He is keen to get away from the kind of knee jerk tribal politics that can see a donkey elected simply for sporting a particular colour of rosette. He believes that an MP should represent the wishes of the voters, rather than their own or their partys interests.
The Apolitical Democrats are by definition apolitical, politically neutral, unbiased, non-aligned, and democrats believers in the democratic right of people to choose who represents them in government. Davids aim is to provide a counter balance to discredited, big-party tribal politics and a credible alternative the usual out-of-touch politicians.