THE LibDems have taken the precautionary step of appointing the man they'd like to see as Taunton Deane's next MP - just in case PM Theresa May calls a snap General Election.

The local party has chosen Gideon Amos as its Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the next 12 months.

They hope that if their is an early poll, Mr Amos, who lives with his wife and children in Staplegrove Road, Taunton, would unseat sitting MP Rebecca Pow (Conservative).

Mr Amos, who grew up and went to school in Somerset, led the LibDems on Oxford City Council, is a former chief executive of the Town and Country Planning Association and was awarded the OBE for services to sustainable development following his work on green housing and energy projects.

He failed to be chosen to stand at the last election in May last year after being interviewed by the local party.

Mr Amos said: "Recent weeks have seen unprecedented and worrying events in the UK which bring huge dangers for Taunton jobs and the economy, particularly given that the Conservative government apparently had no plan for the day after the referendum it called.

"With the UK at a crossroads in its role in the world, LibDems with our pro-Europe and international outlook, and our belief in a fair, free and liberal Britain will defend all of our trading links with Europe and the world and provide the rock of tolerance, openness and stability our country and its communities now need so badly."

Mr Amos believes the public should have the chance to accept or reject any plan worked out for a future outside the EU.

He added: "I am eager for the next General Election, whenever it comes, people want to hold the Conservatives to account for their chaotic handling of our country's future including the chances they're taking with the very survival of the United Kingdom."

The constituency has returned two LibDem MPs - Jackie Ballard, who served from 1997 to 2001, and Jeremy Browne (2005-15), who was appointed as a Minister in the Foreign Office and then the Home Office in the Coalition Government.

Taunton Deane's current Conservative MP Rebecca Pow won the seat by a landslide margin in May last year.