What with all the heat – and even some light, at times – over the Prime Minister’s proposed EU deal, coverage of candidate selections has had to take something of a back seat for the last couple of weeks. They have been continuing, however, with several target seats picking their candidates for the next election (whenever that may be).
Here is a round-up of the latest results:
Battersea (Labour majority 2,416): Cllr Kim Caddy. A chartered accountant by profession, with a degree in biological sciences, Cllr Caddy is Cabinet Member for Housing on Wandsworth council. She is also a local school governor, and contested the Streatham constituency in the 2015 and 2017 general elections. She wrote for this site earlier this year on Wandsworth’s business-friendly approach.
Croydon Central (Labour majority 5,652): Cllr Mario Creatura. Currently the Chief Whip of the Croydon Conservative council group, Cllr Creatura was at one time a Parliamentary staffer to Gavin Barwell, this seat’s former incumbent. Following a stint working in public affairs for Heineken, he rejoined his old boss to take up his current job as a Special Adviser to the Prime Minister. He has written several times for ConservativeHome.
Darlington (Labour majority 3,280): Peter Gibson. A lawyer by training, Gibson is Managing Director and founder of Coles Solicitors, a sizeable law firm operating across North Yorkshire. He contested Redcar in the 2017 General Election.
Dewsbury (Labour majority 3,321): Mark Eastwood. Formerly Chairman of the Dewsbury Conservative Association, Eastwood is also Yorkshire and Humber representative of the Conservative Workers and Trade Unionists and describes himself with the labels “Workers Party, Social Liberal…Green Belt Campaigner”. He reportedly works in the manufacturing sector, and has written for Conservatives4Liberty about his experience growing up as the child of a single parent in Batley during the Thatcher years.
Kingston and Surbiton (Liberal Democrat majority 4,124): Cllr Aphra Brandreth. Formerly a government economist, Cllr Brandreth now runs a veterinary business with her husband. She represents Barnes ward on Richmond Borough Council, and is Deputy Chair Political of Richmond Park and North Kingston Conservative Association, which neighbours the constituency. (And yes, you do recognise the surname – Cllr Brandreth’s father is Gyles Brandreth, former Conservative MP for City of Chester.)
Plymouth Sutton and Devonport (Labour majority 6,807): Cllr Rebecca Smith. A Plymouth councillor, Cllr Smith grew up in the constituency and is a local school governor. She works part-time for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and for Gary Streeter, MP for the neighbouring constituency of South West Devon.
Twickenham (Liberal Democrat majority 9,762): Isobel Grant. A structural engineer by profession, she has worked on infrastructure for the 2012 Olympics, Heathrow Terminal 5, and Crossrail, and was named in the Telegraph‘s ‘Top 50 Women in Engineering’ earlier this year. Grant is a former Ealing councillor, and fought Ealing North in 2017 and Bristol South in 2015.