A LIBERAL Democrat parliamentary candidate said she wants to start a conversation about the future of the county.

Lucy Hurds, who is the candidate for Hereford and South Herefordshire, said the Liberal Democrats want to ensure they have a manifesto based on the public's concerns.

She said the county's party has already started the conversation by asking party members what their priorities are but that they want to spread this out further throughout the county and get people talking.

Mrs Hurds said: "We want to start a conversation about what's going to happen with the funding and what we can do.

"We started by going out to our members and supporters and asking them the question what our priorities should be."

She said the party is sending out leaflets to get people talking.

Mrs Hurds added: "We want to make sure that things which really matter to people get included."

Herefordshire Council will no longer receive government funding by 2020.

She said: "We know, like a lot of the rural counties, we do not have enough people to get enough council tax and business rates to maintain the services even to a minimum."

She said with the cut in funding they will need to think outside the box and get people and groups working together.

Mrs Hurds added: "A major priority is making sure people feel supported."

The leaflet focuses on meeting Herefordshire's housing need, children's future, health and social care, transport and local economy and tourism.

She said she gets annoyed by the phrase "affordable housing" because for a lot of people in Herefordshire it does not mean affordable.

Mrs Hurds added: "We are getting to a point in Herefordshire where people on an average wage are even finding it difficult to rent.

"We need to build actually affordable houses."

She would like to see the council work with housing associations to build more housing to meet local need.