LEFT-wing writer Owen Jones and shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer are set to visit the Southampton today in a late bid to swing voters in one the country's key election battlegrounds.

The pair are set to meet with voters and Labour activists in the city this afternoon.

They will take part in a talk at the church hall in Haynes Road / Commercial Street from 12.30pm.

Mr Jones is a Guardian columnist, political commentator and author of critically acclaimed books Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class and The Establishment: And How They Get Away With It.

Mr Starmer has held the Holborn and St Pancras seat for Labour since 2015, and will contest the seat again at this election, and is the Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.

The pair will be joined by Laura Parker, national co-ordinator of Momentum, a grassroots movement supportive of Labour and its leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The event comes just days before the 2019 General Election, which takes place on December 12.

Southampton Itchen is thought to be one of the key battlegrounds in the election, with Conservative Royston Smith having won the seat by 31 votes from Labour's Simon Letts in 2017.

The pair are set to renew their battle once again, with Mr Smith representing the Conservatives once more and Mr Letts representing Labour.

They will face competition from Liberal Democrat candidate Liz Jarvis and UKIP's Kim Rose.

Last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Southampton and met bosses from the city's port.

Among pledges made during his visit were more police officers to tackle crime and more help to tackle pollution.