The Greens have picked Stroud's mayor, Kevin Cranston, as their parliamentary candidate.

Kevin has been a member of the Stroud Town Council for more than 20 years and has also served as a district councillor.

Before moving to Stroud in 1996, he spent 26 years serving in the army, mainly flying helicopters or serving as a staff officer.

Kevin currently works as a management consultant helping companies reduce their environmental impacts.

“The greatest threat to our survival comes from climate change and what we have been doing to our planet. I want the issue of the climate crisis to be central to the next campaign for Parliament,” he said.

“I am very pleased that Stroud town and district councils were among the first councils in the country to commit to becoming Carbon Neutral by 2030. I want to take this sense of urgency to the voters.

“As Stroud’s MP, I will work to implement the core values of the Green Party including a fairer, healthier society that guarantees quality of life for all people.”

Announcing his selection, Stroud District Green Party said: "Kevin’s immediate priorities as an MP include treating climate change as the crisis it is and moving from words to action; settling the Brexit issue, ideally by remaining in the EU; reversing the pernicious effects of this government’s austerity policies and to start to heal the scars from these damaging policies.

"Electoral reform and returning power to local government are his next priorities."