Richard Holden MP speaks to BBC News about what he wants to see in the next Prime Minister.
He comments:
"Almost a thousand constituents have already done it who’ve voted for every party and none before - let me know your views via my 60 second survey here - www.richardholden.org.uk/form/next-prime-minister-survey
"I’ve been very clear about what I want from the candidate that I will back:
1.) Need to understand and care about people from constituencies like North West Durham - the challenges people face locally and their ambitions for themselves, their families and our communities
2.) Must to be able to unite the Conservatives and the country at a difficult time and have broad appeal nationwide in order to do that
3.) Have a clear plan for our country - sensible on dealing with the Northern Ireland Protocol and making the best use of the new powers from Brexit to drive us forward and on the economy to deliver good, long-term, well paid jobs
4.) Keep going on the agenda people voted for to drive prosperity and productivity in the North of England, N Wales, Scotland and the Midlands - Levelling Up. And investing in our NHS, Schools and extra police to tackle anti-social behaviour
5.) They’ve got to be able to win. Being the MP for North West Durham is an amazing job that I’m honoured to do every day and I want to keep doing it. It is very difficult to see how Labour can win an overall majority given the SNP dominance in Scotland at the moment. That means we’d likely see a Labour/LibDem Coalition backed up with a ‘confidence and supply arrangement’ (not a formal coalition but a deal on key issues) with the SNP and Plaid Cymru if the Conservatives don’t win - like we saw in the 70s. The price would be to break our country apart and I want the candidate best place to stop that happening."