THREE men need the help of Bury people this weekend if they are to stand a chance of getting into Parliament.

The Conservatives are holding an open meeting where anyone, not just members, can choose the party's Bury North candidate for the next general election.

After listening to them speak, residents who are registered to vote in the constituency, will be asked to make their choice in a ballot. This is the first seat in Greater Manchester to use this method, and the meeting will be held on Saturday at Holy Cross College in Bury, starting at 1.30pm.

The Tories need a swing of around three per cent to unseat Labour's David Chaytor, who has been in power since 1997, with a majority at last year's election of 2,926 votes.

Anyone who wants to attend is asked to pre-register, either at www.buryconservatives.com; or email burynorth@tory.org or call 764 4548.

The candidates

Simon Baynes (46), managing director of a UK investment bank. He lives in Powys and was Conservative candidate for Montgomeryshire in 2005.

His top priorities are to save the maternity unit, Ward 30 and other services at Fairfield Hospital, and save schools from closure. He also condemns the sale of Bury's Lowry painting.

Mr Baynes wants to protect small businesses from tax hikes, support local food producers and farmers, provide better youth facilities and a better deal for the elderly.

He also calls for more police on the streets and tougher sentencing.

Before going into the hotel business, his father was a professional soldier and Simon strongly supports a significant increase in defence expenditure which will benefit, among others, the Lancashire Fusiliers.

With his wife Maggie, Simon founded the nationwide charity "Concertina: Music for the Elderly" and is chairman of his local county youth orchestra. He has two young children.

David Nuttall (44) is a solicitor and former councillor. He lives in Tottington with his wife Susan and contested the Bury North seat last year, achieving a four per cent swing to the Conservatives. This will be his fourth general election campaign.

David believes in "small" Government and "trusting the people". He believes in low taxation, keeping the pound and controlling immigration.

Having run his own business for 16 years, he is particularly concerned about the difficulties facing small businesses.

Mr Nuttall says all the threatened wards at Fairfield Hospital should be kept open, adding: "Labour are supposedly spending twice as much on the NHS yet all we ever hear of is hospital cutbacks and threats to our services."

David attends St. Anne's Church in Tottington. Outside of politics he enjoys walking, birdwatching and watching sport, and he is a member of Ramsbottom Cricket Club.

Alex Williams (31), a chartered accountant who lives in Hale, Cheshire. He is a councillor in Trafford and was the Parliamentary candidate for Bury South in 2005. He is married to Susan, and his mother and grandmother grew up in the borough.

Mr Williams says he will fight for Fairfield Hospital and local public services. On crime, he says Labour's record is abysmal: Greater Manchester Police face £14 million of cuts while violent crime is rising.

He says the rights of victims must be put above those of criminals.

"While expensive paintings are sold to make ends meet, the threat of closure hung over local schools for months," he said.

In his spare time he is a keen hillwalker, mountaineer and swimmer.