THE confirmed candidates in the two local constituencies are:

HEYWOOD & MIDDLETON
Gary Aronsson: British National Party
Phil Burke: Liberal Party
Jim Dobbin: Labour Party
Crea Lavin: Liberal Democrat Party
Stephen Pathmarajah: Conservative Party
John Whittaker: UK Independence Party

MANCHESTER BLACKLEY
Amar Ahmed: Conservative
Roger Bullock: UK Independence Party
Graham Stringer: Labour Party
Iain Donaldson: Liberal Democrat

AS NOMINATIONS for the General Election closed, Jim Dobbin, sitting MP for Heywood and Middleton (incorporating Castleton, Norden and Bamford) reiterated his support for the principles of the Co-operative Party.
Mr Dobbin sits in the House of Commons as a Labour and Co-operative Party MP, a post he has held for the last eight years.
Before his election as MP for the area, Mr Dobbin served as a councillor on Rochdale Council for more than 13 years and also held the post of council leader.
He and wife, Pat, live in Heywood and had the pleasure of celebrating their Ruby Anniversary last year, with their four children and grandsons.
During his time as an NHS microbiologist, Mr Dobbin was the North of England representative of his professional body, the Institute of Medical Biological Sciences, a visiting lecturer at the former John Dalton College, in Manchester, and was also an examiner in Medical Laboratory Management.
Mr Dobbin's political interests are health, transport and local government. He is also chairman of the all-party Pro-Life Group in Parliament, and as such, he has challenged the Government on a number of important issues.
With regard to the forthcoming election, Mr Dobbin told the Guardian he wants to be part of a Government which will "make the world safer, healthier and more prosperous."
He added: "When the gloomy and despondent try to knock voters' confidence, we have to remind them of all the benefits we are now enjoying. Most people in this country now have a better standard of living , but there are still pockets of deprivation that we have to tackle. We in the Labour movement know that with the right policies we can make a difference to those people's lives.
"Global responsibility is an issue that has been of great importance to constituents, evident from my prominent postbag. It is an issue that both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have addressed consistently throughout the last year and it is gratifying to see how many of my constituents care passionately about alleviating poverty and ill-health in poorer countries."
Other important Labour and Co-op manifesto pledges include organising a referendum on the European Constitutional Treaty and a single currency, increasing funding for renewable energy programmes and holding a moratorium (a temporary ban) on commercial growing of GM foods.

GRAHAM Stringer has been confirmed as this year's Labour nominee for Manchester Blackley for the seventh consecutive year.
The former leader of Manchester City Council will stand in the consituency against candidates from the Conservative, Liberal Democrat and UK Independence parties at the General Election on 5 May.
Now serving on the Transport Select Committee, Mr Stringer was elected Member of Parliament for Manchester Blackley in May 1997.
He was a member of the House of Commons Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Select Committee and its Transport Sub Committee from 1997 to 1999.
Appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office in November 1999, Mr Stringer was also a Government Whip from 2001 to 2002.
Drawing on his active involvement in Manchester's Olympic bid and in its successful hosting of the 2002 Commonwealth Games Mr Stringer says he hopes to work alongside the 18 Labour councillors within the Labour-controlled city council, to continue its recent improvements.
He said: "This election gives people a clear choice between Labour, which wants to carry on running a stable economy, or a return to the Conservative years of three million unemployed."
He added his party's focus would enable real investment in schools, hospitals and crime prevention.
Born in Manchester Mr Stringer has lived in the city all his life, except for a period spent at university in Sheffield where he studied for a degree in Chemistry.
After developing his career as an Analytical Chemist in 1974, he was first elected to Manchester City Council in 1979 and remained a member until 1998.
Taking up the position of Leader of the council in 1984, Mr Stringer remained in post for 12 years during which time many changes affected local government.
Manchester was at the forefront of innovative urban regeneration through projects such as the development of Metrolink; the rail link to Manchester Airport and the creation of the National Cycling Centre.
These initiatives enabled Mr Stringer to promote Manchester and the North West on an international stage, preparing him for the challenges which lay ahead as a Member of Parliament.
Blackley was first won by Labour in 1945 but went back to the Tories in 1951 where it stayed until 1964.
Since 1983 the party's majority has stedaily grown and is now 54.5 per cent over the second place Conservatives.

GARY Aronsson is a 43 year old business studies graduate, born and bred in Kirkby, near Liverpool, who is standing in this year's General Election as a BNP candidate for the Heywood and Middleton constituency.
His first job on leaving school was at the Kirkby DHSS offices - then the busiest in Britain - which gave him a deep insight into the real meaning of social deprivation.
A former life-long Labour supporter and Labour Party activist, Mr Aronsson was on the selection committee that appointed George Howarth MP as Labour candidate for Knowsley North.
Gary said: "I left Labour when I realised they wanted people to stay poor, because poor people vote Labour. David Blunkett's statement 'there are no limits to immigration' ensures a constant supply of cheap, low or unskilled labour to force down our wages, yet overcrowding raises property prices sky-high, so young couples can't afford a decent home."

A CANDIDATE standing in the General Election is hedging his bets.
Dr John Whittaker, currently a Euro MP, is standing on behalf of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in eight constituencies, including Heywood and Middleton.
The other areas are Rochdale, Stalybridge and Hyde, Manchester Central, Wigan, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Crosby.
Born in Oldham, Dr Whittaker, who has been an economist at Lancaster University for the last 10 years, defends his decision to stand in so many places.
He says: "I wanted to give all those good people who voted for a UKIP Euro-MP in the last election a chance to get themselves a UKIP MP at home.
"UKIP has 58 candidates standing for 76 North-West seats, so I'm putting myself up to give other constituencies a chance.
"The old political parties won't admit that we are in a straitjacket while we remain in the European Union. The Conservatives are talking about taking a firm stance on immigration, but Britain has already signed-up to European directives, so the Tories won't be able to do any of the things they're promising.
"We need to get rid of thousands of stupid regulations so that we can be in charge of our own lives again. We also need to start creating proper jobs again. More jobs means a better economy and a better economy means more money to pay for services, such as the police.
"But the UK Independence Party also needs to get the message across about the amount of corruption and sleaze in the European Parliament. The accounts haven't been signed-off for 10 years because of discrepancies and British people need to know what's going on."
"We need to stop paying money to the EU and spend it in this country. Let's get away from 'spin' and political-correctness and get back to a Britain that is run for British people, not for professional politicians and bureaucrats.
"I would be pleased to represent Heywood and Middleton's concerns in our national Parliament and deal with local as well as national issues."

Other candidate profiles will appear here