Christian candidates in the spotlight: The most interesting battle in the General Election 2017

With the General Election 2017 just days away Christian Today is zooming in on some crucial battleground seats where Christian candidates are in the spotlight.

The east London seat of Bermondsey and Old Southwark is one of the more unusual seats in the 2017 General Election.

For the first time in decades it is there is a genuine choice on offer between the main parties.

But in Bermondsey, the two candidates are remarkably similar.

Sitting MP Labour's Neil Coyle faces the Lib Dem's Simon Hughes who he ousted at the 2015 election after 32 years in parliament.

Both men are looking to grasp hold of the centre ground with Coyle desperately trying to distance himself from his leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Labour's Neil Coyle has been one of Jeremy Corbyn's fiercest critiques. Neil Coyle

'It's me on the ballot here, not Jeremy Corbyn. I've fought on the issues I think are a priority for local people... Jeremy Corbyn isn't going to be PM and Tim Farron isn't going to be PM. We're not choosing a PM. I'm fighting to create a more centrist Labour Party across the whole country,' he said in a debate in early May according to Southwark News.

Both men are also boasting of their anti-Brexit credentials with 73 per cent of residents voting Remain.

Despite Coyle's strong opposition for Brexit, Corbyn is as only half-heartedly campaigning to stay in the EU.

Hughes said: 'If Labour had put in half the effort we had done with campaigning against Brexit, we wouldn't be in this mess.'

Both men are also strong Christians.

Coyle is defending of 4,489 majority after capitalising on the Lib Dem's capitulation in 2015.

Talk of a supposed Lib Dem fightback is failing to materialise with polls showing support stagnating or even reducing.

It will take all of Hughes' 32 years of experience to turnaround his fortunes. And given he has just turned 66, this may be his last chance to do so.

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