Rookie politician Beth Prescott is facing a baptism of fire at the General Election – taking on a Labour MP tipped as a future Prime Minister.

Dewsbury-born former Heckmondwike Grammar School student Beth, 22, has been selected as the Tory candidate to take on Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.

Ms Cooper, wife of Labour heavyweight Ed Balls, has a 10,000 majority in Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford.

Beth, a Parliamentary caseworker to junior Government minister Matthew Hancock, is relishing the challenge and said: “I am not daunted by the size of the majority or who I am up against.

“Whoever the voters believe has the best interests of the area at heart will win.”

Beth, who lives in Dewsbury, got into politics after studying the subject at A-level.

She joined the Conservative Party at the age of 18 and now wants to inspire young people to vote.

“There is a lot of voter apathy but I am hoping I can get young people excited about casting their vote and show them that it really makes a difference.

“My passion for politics has encouraged my friends to get interested and one of them even watches Question Time now!

“I think that as young people get older and get a job, their own place to live and their own bills to pay they want to find out where their taxes go and how the money is spent.”

Beth, who opted not to go to university, entered the cut-throat world of Westminster politics last January as an apprentice to West Suffolk MP Mr Hancock, now the energy and climate change minister.

In December Mr Hancock offered her a job as a caseworker dealing with people’s problems in his constituency.

Beth is a strong advocate of apprenticeships and said: “University wasn’t for me and the apprenticeship gave me a wonderful opportunity and I now have a job. Apprenticeships are great for young people like me.”

Beth, a big Huddersfield Town supporter, used to have the ambitious Twitter name beth4pm, a strong hint that she fancied the top job in politics one day.

For now Beth is playing a politician’s straight bat on whether she wants to be Prime Minister.

“I am looking no further than the General Election in May,” she said.

Beth is not the only Dewsbury-based Tory candidate standing at the General Election.

Itrat Ali, of Savile Town, is standing against sitting MP Barry Sheerman in Huddersfield and former Kirklees councillor Imtiaz Ameen is standing in Batley and Spen.

Dewsbury already has a Tory MP in Simon Reevell.