THE Labour candidate for North Ayrshire and Arran says "it's time for change" in the local area.

Irene Campbell officially launched her general election campaign on Thursday, May 30.

While she has already been out and about speaking to voters since it was announced she would be running for the Westminster seat in January, the NHS programme manager says she intends to get out and about in the community even more now that the election has been called on July 4.

She said: “We’ve been door-knocking since January. Now we’ve really ramped that up.

“We’re out every night and I’m taking time off work in the very near future.

“For me, that’s when you hear what people’s views really are and what people think and what they’re looking for.

“I have to say, it’s been pretty positive so far.”

While the slogan for Ms Campbell's campaign is "it's time for change" and she explained exactly what she means by that.

Irvine Times: Irene Campbell officially launched her election campaign on Thursday, May 30.

She added: “It is time for change. We’ve had 17 years of the SNP in Holyrood, 14 years of the Tories in Westminster.

"We absolutely need investment and change throughout the whole country – I think Labour is the only party who can deliver that change.”

The Saltcoats woman says she wants to draw on her experience fighting to improve her community through her work as chair of the local Splash group.

Splash is responsible for ongoing plans to revive the former outdoor swimming pool in the town and proposals to revitalise the harbour area.

Ms Campbell continued: “I would be fighting really hard to get investment back in this area.

“Partly because the SNP won’t always take everything that is on offer in Westminster, I would actively be looking for opportunities to get investment in this area.

“Some of the local work I’ve been doing shows there are funding streams that can be tapped into. I know that I would be pursuing that.”

Ms Campbell is up against Patricia Gibson for the SNP, who is aiming to win the seat for a fourth time, and Todd Ferguson for the Scottish Conservatives.

The nomination deadline to stand as a candidate in the election is Friday, June 7.