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A national centre right political think tank director is among the six candidates shortlisted to take over from Richard Spring as Conservative candidate for West Suffolk.

Dr Sheila Lawlor, pictured, the director of Politea, regularly appears on radio and television talking about the economy and public services.

She is one of six candidates - three men and three women - who will take part in an open primary on January 30, to gain the nomination.

Open primaries mean that anyone on the electoral roll can attend and vote, not just members of the Conservative Party.

The candidates will have a short opportunity to present their arguments and then a vote will decide who then becomes the most likely person to be the next MP for the constituency in which Haverhill is the largest town.

Mr Spring had a majorioty of nearly 9,000 at the last election, but announced recently he would not be standing at the next election.

The other candidates for Conservative nomination are as follows:

Natalie Elphicke is a number one ranked individual solicitor by her peers in her field involving the financing of affordable housing. She has been a housing commissioner for a major local government unit.

Anthony Frieze is senior consultant to Lighthouse Global which is helping financial service companies come through the recession. He is a former president of the Oxford Union.

Sam Gyimah is the founder and managing director of a £2.5 million company helping self-employed professionals find work. He is a former chairman of the Bow Group, the oldest Conservative think tank.

Mathew Hancock is chief of staff for shadow chancellor George Osborne and leader of his 12-strong team. A fully trained debt counsellor, he has worked with some of the most vulnerable in the community.

Lucille Nicholson is a livestock and arable farmer who set up, and is a director of, her own building and property company. She has chaired a group raising the profile of the Conservative Party within the business community.