THE CONSERVATIVE candidate for St Helens South and Whiston in the upcoming general election believes the Tories are the “party of the worker”.

The Conservative Party first tried to rebrand as the workers’ party under David Cameron.

This claim has been reiterated by the recently-announced Conservative candidate for St Helens South and Whiston, Richard Short.

Mr Short grew up in council estates in in Corby, Wellingborough and Leigh and is the deputy director of Conservative Workers and Trade Unionists.

He stood as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Warrington North in 2015 but was not selected to stand in 2017.

Mr Short, who lives in Leigh, previously worked as an environmental health officer for Wigan, Bolton, West Lancs and South Ribble councils.

He now works as a safety and security director for Accor Hotels, which operate three hotels in St Helens, including Chalon Court in town centre.

After the selection at the weekend, Mr Short said: “I am delighted to be chosen to be the parliamentary candidate for St Helens South and Whiston.

“I know this town really well, it’s a great and proud town with a fantastic heritage and I’m looking forward to getting out with our great team of activists to get our message across.

“Brexit must be done and I’m backing Boris (Johnson) to get us out of the EU so we can concentrate on the things that matter most to the hard-working people of St Helens.

“With a frightening increase in knife crime in the town I am especially keen to see the extra investment in police so we can walk the streets safely and I am very excited to see the extra NHS investment making our two outstanding hospitals even better, treating more people with world class facilities.”

Mr Short reiterated claims from the Conservatives that Labour’s election pledges would cost the taxpayer an additional £2,400 a year.

However, this claim was branded as “more fake news from Conservative HQ” by Shadow Treasury minister Jonathan Reynolds.

Mr Reynolds said Labour will set out its plans and costings when the party releases its manifesto.

Another Labour election pledge announced on Thursday that will come under further scrutiny was a promise to give every home and business in the UK free full-fibre broadband by 2030.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said it would achieve this by nationalising part of BT and by introducing a tax on tech giants to help pay for it.

“Labour are good at giveaways without considering the cost, but they give a little with one hand and take huge amounts of tax with the other,” Mr Short said.

“Conservatives have kept tax low for the lowest paid, taking many out of income tax altogether.

“Conservatives are the party of the worker, the party of the ladder of opportunity and I’m looking forward to representing St Helens South and Whiston in Parliament.”