The Lib Dems have announced two Gloucestershire parliamentary candidates to stand at the general election this year.

Cameron Thomas will stand against Tewkesbury MP Laurence Robertson, while Rebecca Trimnell will stand against Gloucester MP Richard Graham.

Cameron Thomas has lived with his family in the constituency since serving at Imjin Barracks in 2016. He served with the RAF for 23 years until December 2023, as an aviator, non-commissioned officer and later as a commissioned RAF police officer.

He is an advocate for marine conservation and has volunteered with the Shark Conservation Society in the UK and Pretoma in Costa Rica. Locally, Cameron has volunteered with the Trussell Trust, delivering food parcels to Gloucestershire families suffering through the cost-of-living crisis, and at the Butterfly Garden, which provides recreation and education to disabled people.

Cameron said: "Ours is a broad constituency, with a broad range of experiences. I love living here and have built ties across Tewkesbury, Gloucester, Bishops Cleeve and Cheltenham. People here deserve better; somebody who will stand up for them. I want to give people hope."

He continued: "The Lib Dems have enjoyed significant success in national and local by-elections since 2021, and recently replaced the Conservatives as the largest party on Tewkesbury Borough Council. We are not done. Laurence Robertson has held this seat for 26 years yet is largely anonymous to his constituents.

"I will fight for electoral reform so that seats such as ours are no longer safe havens for under-performing MPs; I will fight to adequately fund councils so that struggling people can be given the local help they need; I will fight for education reform, to give our brilliant teachers the resources they need to help our children shine; I will shame and hold to account water companies who pollute our waterways; I will proudly stand up for our area. Tewkesbury deserves change, I am standing to deliver it."

Rebecca Trimnell is a councillor for Westgate on Gloucester City council. She works for a charity helping people with dementia and has previously worked in social care, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, helping some of the city's most vulnerable.

She also has a strong record of voluntary work, including as a trained Samaritan volunteer and a mental health first aider.

Cllr Trimnell said: "It is a great honour to stand in the forthcoming general election for a city that I have made my home for the last 13 years.

"In Gloucester we have seen the city council going from vanishing to pretty much vanished and Gloucestershire Royal Hospital's CQC ratings plummeting to 'inadequate' in key areas. Adult social care is on its knees impacting detrimentally on the lives of vulnerable people and their families throughout the city and up and down the country.

"Gloucester has an incredible history with a diverse mix of individuals. It would be a great honour to represent all the city's residents as Gloucester's first Liberal Democrat MP.

"We all know that change is needed and I for one would like to see more compassion in politics and to rid the lacklustre and complacent attitudes that have remained in power for far too long both in this city and nationally."

The Lib Dems have previously confirmed Max Wilkinson as the candidate for Cheltenham. Lib Dem candidates for Cotswold, Forest of Dean and Stroud haven't yet been confirmed.

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