WEST Devon Tory Ian Liddell-Grainger has won an important battle in his bid to make it to Westminster.

He was on Saturday selected to stand for the Tories in Bridgwater, the seat currently held by Tom King, a former senior minister in Margaret Thatcher's cabinet. At the last election Mr King had a majority of 1,796 over the Liberal Democrats.

Mr Liddell-Grainger said he was 'delighted' to have secured the nomination.

'I'm over the moon. It's an enormous honour to follow on from Tom King

'It is a beautiful

constituency, most of it very much like West Devon and Torridge, and runs from Porlock in the west to Street in the east.'

Mr Liddell-Grainger, 41, fought West Devon and Torridge for the Tories at the last election, losing to Liberal Democrat John Burnett by 1,957.

He was front-runner to fight the seat again but withdrew from the selection process in February in an unsuccessful bid to secure nomination in the safe Tory seat of East Devon.

Since then he has targeted other Tory-held seats in his ambition to become a Conservative MP. He was one of almost 200 applicants for the Bridgwater seat and defeated two other short-listed candidates.

The ebullient Mr Liddell-Grainger believes his speech at last year's Conservative conference, during which he famously brandished a leg of lamb in protest at the Government's agricultural policies, helped him win the nomination.

'I know some party members in Bridgwater recognised me as "the man with the leg of lamb", so it can only have helped.'

He added: 'I have no regrets about leaving West Devon and Torridge as I think it will be very tough to win the seat in the future, but I wish the prospective candidate Geoffrey Cox and the association the very best of luck.

'I face a similar tough fight in Bridgwater where there is a strong Liberal challenge and I'm under no illusions that it will be an easy ride.'

Mr Liddell-Grainger and his family live at Bratton Clovelly but he said they will eventually move to the Bridgwater constituency.