John Prescott's son David Prescott to stand as Labour MP in Gainsborough Published duration 16 December 2014

image copyright David Prescott image caption David Prescott was selected to represent Labour in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, after he twice previously failed to win a nomination

The son of former deputy prime minister John Prescott will fight for a seat in Parliament after two previous failed attempts to be selected.

David Prescott, 44, will be Labour candidate for Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, at the general election in May.

He was previously turned down by the party in Greenwich and Woolwich and his father's constituency of Hull East.

Conservative Sir Edward Leigh has represented Gainsborough since 1983.

John Prescott, now Lord Prescott, was an MP for 40 years until 2010, serving as Tony Blair's deputy Prime Minster from 1997 to 2007.

image copyright Getty Images image caption Sir Edward Leigh has been MP for Gainsborough since 1984

He said that he had links to both previous constituencies he had attempted to be selected for and now lived near the Gainsborough area.

"I'm not the kind of person being parachuted into the streets. I'm very proud to have been selected to stand for Labour," he said.

He said the key issue for Gainsborough was transport and infrastructure.

Conservative Sir Edward, a former chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, was first elected when the constituency was called Gainsborough and Horncastle.

At the last election, following the redrawing of the boundaries in 1997, he won with a majority of 10,559.

Related Topics Gainsborough