A Liberal Democrat is hopeful of making history by breaking a century of Tory rule to become the first non-Conservative to represent Farnham in parliament.

Parliamentary hopeful Khalil Yousuf is feeling confident about his chances of being the inaugural MP for the new Farnham & Bordon constituency.

The Prospective Parliamentary Candidate launched his campaign at the Farnham Maltings Centre last Thursday, May 30, citing the need for change after 14 years of Tory rule.

Mr Yousuf is expecting a close battle with Conservative candidate Gregory Stafford with just over a month remaining before the UK goes to the polls.

He also encouraged Labour supporters who are “fed up with the current government” to vote for his party on July 4 as he believes the Liberal Democrats have a better chance of winning the seat.

While his Labour candidate won’t endorse that statement - Alex Just believes his party are just ‘within just a few votes of winning Farnham & Bordon - Mr Yousuf believes the Lib Dems have a real chance at making history in the new constituency.

His campaign focuses on key areas such as the NHS, sewage in the Wey and the economy but the most prominent talking point was the need for change after 14 years of Conservative government.

The Liberal Democrats and Mr Yousuf are confident they can win the seat and have highlighted their strong result in the recent local elections - the party came second to Alan Earwaker of the Farnham Residents Group in the Farnham Castle ward contest - as a reason for optimism.

He said: “We have a Conservative party who have had this constituency for 100 years and that is the challenge we face.”

“Our system is broken and it is our job to do something about it, in a balanced, intelligent and thoughtful way.”