The Liberal Democrat candidate for a new Wiltshire constituency has said he is feeling “upbeat” about the county’s redrawn political boundaries.

Dr Brian Mathew, a Wiltshire councillor for Box and Colerne, has been selected by local Liberal Democrats to represent Melksham and Devizes at the next general election.

He said: “With the boundary changes comes a new start for all our communities.

“Lib Dems, along with Labour and small ‘c’ Conservative and Green voters, revolted by the excesses and corruption of the Johnson/Truss/Sunak years, will at last have the chance to vote for change and chose Liberal Democrats, with the serious prospect that they will be elected and ensure fairness plays a part for the future in what looks likely to be a much changed and more progressive Parliament.”

Dr Mathew is a trained agricultural engineer and moved to Wiltshire in 2006.

He has stood for parliament multiple times since 2010 in the previous constituency of North Wiltshire.

He said: “I’ve spent around 30 years being an aid worker, mostly with water and sanitation, hygiene and climate change.”

He describes himself as an environmentalist and says he feels passionate about the issues affecting local farmers, as well as adult social care.

Dr Mathew wrote the 2019 motion that called on the council to acknowledge the climate emergency and pledge to make the county carbon neutral by 2030.

He said: “It has changed Wiltshire Council, it has changed the way we do business.”

He also noted that the cost of living crisis remains a “massive” issue for residents.

He said: “People are just fed up with the Tories and they want to see a change, so who do you go to?

In the West Country, it has got to be the liberals.”

Dr Mathew added: “I am engineer, so I look at things in a ‘how do you fix it’ way.

“If I can be part of fixing stuff at national level, as well as at Wiltshire Council level, I am going to be very pleased.”

He concluded: “I look forward to meeting residents on the doorstep, from Box and Colerne to Bradford on Avon, to Holt, Melksham, Devizes, Calne South and all the villages in between, and hearing their concerns, worries and points of view in the weeks and months ahead until Sunak finally bites the bullet and calls for a General Election.

“I for one can’t wait, and my slogan will proudly be ’Beat the Blues – Go for Gold!’”