IT would be one of the most unlikely results on General Election night, but Liberal Democrat candidate Daisy Cooper believes her chances of victory are “pretty good.

SUFFOLK COASTAL: It would be one of the most unlikely results on General Election night, but Liberal Democrat candidate Daisy Cooper believes her chances of victory are “pretty good.”

But the electoral arithmetic is against her. Conservative John Gummer had a majority of 9,685 in 2005 - and that was over Labour. The Lib Dems were another 2,000 votes adrift, a full 22.5 per cent behind the Tories.

But Suffolk lass Ms Cooper believes the gap is much narrower.

“John Gummer was a good constituency MP for a rotten party. He had a strong personal following, but now he's standing down, there is a large soft Tory vote just waiting to fall to the Lib Dems.”

Even if she doesn't win, she has made this pledge to Suffolk Coastal Lib Dems: “If they want me, I would commit immediately to fight the seat at the following election.

“Labour and the Lib Dems have never had a candidate fight the constituency twice. But I'll stick around.”

Ms Cooper says there will be “healthy competition” between herself and Labour candidate Adam Leeder, but she is in no doubt that disillusioned Labour voters who want to defeat the Conservatives will turn to her.

She's looking to Felixstowe in particular to desert Labour and believes the Labour vote in the town will be squeezed hard. And she thinks both Halesworth and Southwold, which come under Waveney District Council but which are in Suffolk Coastal constituency, have fallen off the radar of the parties fighting the seat.

She's also hopeful of cashing in the large environmental vote in the Yoxford area.

And as a strong supporter of public transport, she is advocating a more frequent rail service on the East Coast Line and for more community transport projects to supplement bus timetables.

Ms Cooper, who grew up in Walberswick, was educated at schools in the constituency.

Currently living and working in London, she is in Suffolk every weekend and holds “meet the voters” coffee mornings on Sunday as well as regular canvassing on Saturdays.