Tory swipe at Huhne with their first election poster

The Conservative candidate for the Eastleigh byelection has launched a campaign poster which is being seen by observers as a swipe at the former Lib Dem MP Chris Huhne. It tells voters that they should "vote for an MP you can trust". 

Campaign poster published by the Tories today

Launching her campaign Mrs Hutchings said she would be running a "clean campaign", adding: "I want to talk about the issues that affect the people of Eastleigh." She said she did not want to discuss Chris Huhne, whose disgrace has led to the byelection. "That issue is in the past," she said. 

The candidate also said she would have voted against gay marriage, which was before the Commons on Tuesday. She is "pro-life" and would like to see a "10 week abortion limit" and would vote to leave the EU if there was an immediate referendum. Which is not being offered by the Coalition.

An opinion poll from the Eastleigh constituency by Tory Peer Lord Ashcroft showed:

Conservative Party 34%
Liberal Democrat Party 31%
Labour Party 19%
United Kingdom Independence Party 13%
Other 3%