CENTRAL Devon MP Mel Stride has been re-selected to stand as the constituency's Conservative candidate in the 2015 general election.

Mr Stride succeeded Geoffrey Cox as Okehampton's MP in 2010 after boundary changes placed the town, along with Hatherleigh and Chagford, into the new seat of Central Devon.

West Devon Borough Councillor Kevin Ball, who lives in Okehampton, welcomed the decision: 'Okehampton has been very fortunate to have Mel as our local MP for the past three years.

'Everyone knows someone who been helped by Mel in some way or another and he's been a real champion of local businesses, which our town has desperately needed during the past couple of years.

'He works very hard on our behalf and has certainly earned his selection to stand again for the Conservatives in 2015.'

After the re-selection meeting, conducted by the Central Devon Conservative Association, Mr Stride said: 'It has been a huge privilege to serve as Central Devon's first MP and I was touched by the overwhelming support I received this morning to stand again for the Conservatives in 2015.

'My number one priority has been to stand up for our rural communities and to make sure that the needs of our towns and villages are heard loud and clear in Westminster.'

At the beginning of 2012, Mr Stride was promoted to Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Skills Minister John Hayes MP, then moved with him after the October reshuffle to the Department of Energy and Climate Change, where he has worked closely on the Energy Bill currently going through Parliament.