FOUR Tory candidates will be battling for the public vote tonight to have the chance to fight the Oxford West and Abingdon seat at the next General Election.

The contest includes a martial arts expert, former army regular and a human rights campaigner. The all-women line-up has been chosen by Tory leaders to better reflect the make-up of the country than current Conservative MPs - and is endorsed by party leader and Witney MP David Cameron.

At tonight's meeting, held at 7.30pm in the Guildhall, Abingdon, the candidates will make a pitch before the audience selects their favourite.

The Tory candidates are:

  • Nicola Blackwood, a human rights campaigner who lives in North Oxford
  • Joanne Bowlt, an Oxford University graduate and one half of the fundraising couple who travelled from Oxford to Oxford, in New Zealand, in a Morris Oxford
  • Kedra Goodall, who is studying to become a criminal barrister and is a martial arts expert and amateur boxer
  • Emma Webster, the West Berkshire Council's cabinet member for community safety, who is setting up her own IT company. At tonight's meeting, audience members - who must have registered and live in the constituency - will select their favourite.
  • At last year's General Election, Lib Dem MP Dr Evan Harris polled 24,336 votes, beating Tory Amanda McLean into second place with 16,653 votes However, the Conservatives managed a 1.6 per cent swing from the Lib Dems.