Bex Bailey, who has announced plans to stand for Labour in North East Derbyshire at the next General Election.

East Midlands-based Bex Bailey has launched her bid to be the party’s Parliamentary candidate to take on current MP, Conservative Lee Rowley.

He won the seat for the Tories in June’s General Election, bringing an end to Natascha Engel’s 12-year stint as MP.

Ms Bailey, who is a lifelong trade unionist and has spent a decade campaigning against low pay and austerity, said she would ‘fight to give everyone in North East Derbyshire a better future’.

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She said: “Since (Margaret) Thatcher closed the pits, North East Derbyshire has been left behind. We need an end to Tory austerity, an end to the threats of fracking, proper funding for our NHS and older people, decent jobs and pay, and a future in North East Derbyshire for everyone who grows up here.

“I love supporting our local community – whether handing out food at Clay Cross food bank, cheering on charity carol-singers in Dronfield and sharing in the North Wingfield family fun day.

“As a Labour candidate and MP, I would never stop fighting for North East Derbyshire.”

A former member of Labour’s National Executive Committee, she has a wealth of campaign experience.

This includes working with UNISON to win a Living Wage for university cleaners; campaigning on rights for homeless people with the Communication Workers Union; and fighting for women’s rights during her time on the NEC.

Ms Bailey has also campaigned to raise public sector pay and also carries out volunteer work at a rape crisis centre.

In addition to this, she works for the Young Women’s Trust - a charity that supports disadvantaged women on low pay and zero-hours contracts.

The activist hit the national headlines in October when she waived her right to anonymity to reveal she had been raped at a party event in 2011.

She also said that a senior Labour official discouraged her from reporting the attack.