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Town centre will be big issue for Tories
THE Tory set to take on David Miliband at the next general election has marked out the decline of South Shields town centre as the battleground she'll fight her campaign on.
As reported in yesterday's Gazette, Karen Allen, 30, has been named as the Conservatives' choice to contest the South Shields seat when Prime Minister Gordon Brown goes to the country.
The next election is not expected to be held until next year, but Ms Allen is already drawing her battle lines.
She said: "The biggest issue I'll be campaigning on is jobs and enterprise.
"South Shields has a town centre that's dying, and we've got call centres half full. That all needs to change.
"We need to bring in other industries to the borough. We can't just rely on the service industry. There's no innovation."
Asked why she wants to take on the Foreign Secretary, she said: "I've been interested in politics since a very young age.
"I was born and brought up here, so it was the natural choice for me. It was the only place I wanted to stand."
Despite being listed on the electoral roll as living in Kingsway, South Shields, the former Harton Comprehensive School pupil has been based in London since 1998, and spends only a few days here each month.
When asked how much time she spends in South Tyneside, she said: "In an average month, probably about four or five days, but I'll be here more from now on. My employer is very understanding."
Ms Allen, a former broker for insurer Lloyd's of London, works for top financial firm Towers Perrin.
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Weather for South Shields
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Light sleet showers
Temperature: -1 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 1 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: West
