SEVEN?candidates including some young blood are contesting the seat for South East Cornwall in May 7's General Election.

The area has been represented since 2010 by Conservative Sheryll Murray who took 45.1% of the vote five years ago. Prior to that the seat was held by Liberal Democrat Colin Breed for 13 years.

Sheryll Murray was born in the village of Millbrook, South East Cornwall, where she went to school and was later a school governor.

Sheryll still lives in the village and before becoming an MP she worked for the NHS at a local surgery. She was widowed when she lost her fisherman husband Neil to the sea in March 2011. She has two grown up children.

She represented Rame on Cornwall Council and represented her village on Caradon District Council until it was abolished in April 2009.

Liberal Democrat Phil Hutty is an active local campaigner. He knows that despite the rural beauty of the area, South East Cornwall faces a number of issues such as rural poverty, lack of affordable housing, poorly paid jobs and high transport costs.

Phil said that Cornish Lib Dem MPs have a strong tradition of fighting for Cornwall and sees his real life work experiences and determination to fight for his community and make a difference as strong foundations to making him an effective prospective MP.

He has been part of a national award-winning children's charity campaign to engage young people that made sure they were heard in the corridors of power.

Having spent his working life in the field of social care as a qualified social worker, Phil became active in politics after seeing first hand real issues affecting real people.

Phil is married with one son and they live near Callington.

Labour's Declan Lloyd, 18, is one of the youngest candidates up for election. He is an ardent supporter of animal rights and said he will invest every bone in his body into preventing the removal of the foxhunting ban.

'I believe the biggest problem our country faces is the cost of living crisis and just a couple of ways I would alleviate it is by banning zero hour contracts, implementing a living wage and removing the bedroom tax,' he said.

UKIP's Bradley Monk, 20, said: Being young, I believe that I have the energy and enthusiasm needed to change Cornwall for the better. I see my age as a great benefit. It is vital to engage more young people in the political process, something I believe is severely hampered by a total lack of representation for young people.

'Brought up in a normal upbringing, with a mother who sadly had to retire due to a long term chronic disability in her 30s, I understand issues which are prevalent in society and affect everyday people in South East Cornwall. This is the reason I became disillusioned with our political elite and the way in which our welfare system works. I will seek radical changes to this, ensuring it is used as a safety net for those who need it, rather than a lifestyle choice.'

Now retired, Martin Corney of the Green Party previously worked for 22 years in Devonport Docks. He is vice-chair of St Ive Parish Council and is chair of the Neighbourhood Development Plan working group. He is a board member of Growing Project CIC, supporting vulnerable people in the local community.

Martin is also a founding trustee and treasurer of Pensilva Youth Projects and a volunteer at Callington Food Bank.

Mebyon Kernow representative Andrew Long is an experienced councillor, who represents Callington on the unitary authority. He also represented the town on Caradon District Council between 2007 and 2009, and he has been a town councillor since 1999.

Andrew has been extremely active in many campaigns, in areas as diverse as the environment, housing, planning, fair funding for local schools and waste. He is also playing a prominent role in campaigns against central government cuts.

Fifty-year-old Andrew has lived in South East Cornwall since he was a small child.  He has been chairman of Callington Town Football Club for 20 years and also helps a community group undertake a soup run for homeless people in Plymouth.

He said: 'Cornwall needs MPs who stand up and fight for Cornwall, and who will always put the interests of our local communities ahead of party political games in London. And that is why I am proud to be standing for MK in this election.'

Independent George Trubody is 37 years old and is married with a daughter. He has lived in South East Cornwall most of his life. He has been the Cornwall councillor for the Rame Peninsula since 2009 and a past cabinet support member for localism on Cornwall Council.

'My proudest achievement as a councillor was the role I played in the rescue of residents from their homes, some injured, during the storms that hit Kingsand in 2014,' he said. 'I received both local and national recognition for my efforts.

'In my work life I have managed retail shops across South East Cornwall, and more recently I was owner/skipper of a commercial fishing boat from Millbrook, then Looe.

'As an Independent MP I would not have a party manifesto to follow, leaders to please, or any other distractions — this means I could work for, and solely, on behalf of the electorate of South East Cornwall. These are the only people who matter.'