FIVE women vying for the chance to become the next MP for Newport East are due to find out this weekend who will be the Labour candidate at the forthcoming general election.

Lining up for the hustings meeting on Sunday are Fern Coster, Anne Moore-Williams, Jessica Morden, Cherry Short and Debbie Wilcox.

Each is to make her presentation and face questioning by members of the constituency Labour Party before a one-person, one- vote secret ballot is held to select the successful candidate.

Three of the women are known to have local links and include high-flying Labour official Jessica Morden, currently general secretary of the Welsh Labour Party.

Last year she was tipped to take over as general secretary of the Labour party.

Ms Morden was born in Cwmbran and still lives in the area, while Fern Coster, of Newport, is a former St Julians School pupil and is the party's agent for Newport West. Debbie Wilcox is a city councillor who represents the Gaer ward.

Cherry Short is also known in Gwent as she stood for the Monmouth constituency for the Labour party.

After the 1999 election it was revealed that Mrs Short had endured a campaign of racist intimidation from the far-right Combat 18. The former Cardiff councillor was also one of the candidates in the controversial all-women shortlist for the Blaenau Gwent seat, which was eventually won by Maggie Jones.

Many local party members there objected to the all-women shortlist, and the constituency party boycotted what it called an "undemocratic" process. Although some Newport East members were believed to be unhappy with the female-only list, which is line with Labour party policy, the situation was accepted.

Anne Moore-Williams, who works in the legal profession, is a member of Croydon council. She stood as Labour candidate for the safe Tory seat of Bexhill and Battle at the last general election and came third.