The Conservative candidate for Carlisle has received backing from former Conservative party leadership contender, Rory Stewart.

Rory was the MP for Penrith and the Border from 2010 until 2019 and stood against Boris Johnson in the 2019 Tory leadership election.

Mr Stewart had the Conservative whip removed for voting against a no deal Brexit in 2019 and since leaving parliament he briefly stood for the London mayoralty and co-hosts a successful podcast with new Labour spin doctor, Alistair Campbell.

“I am delighted to give a personal endorsement to John Stevenson,” said Mr Stewart.

“As a neighbouring MP and a friend, I worked closely with John.

“He was an outstanding, committed constituency MP doing a great job for Carlisle helping secure a significant amount of investment for the area.

“I would encourage everyone in Carlisle to back John.”

Carlisle’s Conservative candidate, John Stevenson, said he was ‘delighted’ by the backing of Mr Stewart.

Following boundary changes, a large chunk of what made up Mr Stewart’s old Penrith and the Border constituency has now been incorporated into the Carlisle constituency.

Carlisle has now taken on Brampton, Longtown and a number of small villages going up to the Scottish Borders in a major change to the Cumbrian political landscape.

Mr Stevenson has pledged further investment for the border towns and villages.

“I welcome the border area coming into the Carlisle constituency and would very much like to continue my work there too,” said Mr Stevenson, who has been Carlisle MP since 2010.

“My aim is to make sure those towns, villages and communities get the attention and investment they deserve too.”

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But, despite the backing of high-profile politician, a win for the Conservatives in Carlisle is a long way from fruition.

Current polling would see Labour win 46 per cent of the vote in Carlisle with the Conservatives second on 27 per cent with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party in third with almost 20 per cent of the vote according to online analyst, Election Maps UK.

The election will be held on July 4 and anybody wishing to vote must register by June 18.