Matthew Jeffery is a ConservativeHome columnist and attended the final selection meeting.
David Thompson has been selected as the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Maidstone and Malling, securing an outright victory on the first ballot against two formidable opponents, Matt Boughton and Mario Creatura.
He will now lead the Conservative campaign at the next General Election as Helen Grant prepares to stand down from Parliament.
Thompson secured more than 50 per cent of the vote, meeting the required threshold of ’50 per cent plus one’ and avoiding the need for any further rounds of voting. It was an impressive result in a contest featuring three candidates with substantial political experience and strong Conservative credentials.
It would be wrong to report this result without recognising the exceptional calibre of the two unsuccessful finalists. Matt Boughton and Mario Creatura were both superb on the night and either would have made an excellent Conservative Parliamentary candidate. Both possess substantial experience in politics, public service and campaigning and both deserve further opportunities to put that experience to use.
All three delivered superb performances on the night, presenting different strengths, experiences and visions for the Party’s future. For members, it was a difficult choice but Thompson emerged with a clear mandate and was visibly jubilant as the result was announced.
Speaking to me exclusively for Conservative Home, just moments after his selection, Thompson could barely contain his delight.
“I feel ecstatic and look, it’s been a really hard process. I’ve been up against some great candidates from right across the piece but I am over the moon to being selected to represent the place I call home and looking forward to fighting as hard as I can at the next general election.”
For Thompson, this was a particularly personal victory. He lives in West Malling with his wife Aurore, has spent more than a decade living in the constituency and has served as Chairman of the local Conservative Association. He is also a long-standing parish councillor, a committed local campaigner and someone who has already invested considerable time in defending the communities he now hopes to represent at Westminster.
His professional background is equally substantial. Currently the British Council’s Director of UK and External Relations, he leads a global external relations function and oversees a £20 million commercial operation. Previously, he worked for the Russell Group and ran the Westminster office of the late James Brokenshire, gaining firsthand experience of the demands of parliamentary life.
His personal story is rooted in a working-class family in south-east London. Raised with the influence of grandparents who had served their country and worked hard throughout their lives, he attended grammar school before becoming the first in his family to go to university. It is an upbringing that has shaped his belief in meritocracy, personal responsibility and the importance of giving people the opportunity to succeed through their own efforts.
Those convictions have also been evident in his community work. During the pandemic, he established West Malling Volunteers to support vulnerable residents, while his campaigning helped raise £30,000 to protect the historic setting of St Mary’s Abbey from inappropriate development. He has also travelled to Ukraine as part of an aid convoy, raising funds for a vehicle carrying medical supplies and generators.
When I asked why he believed members had chosen him over such strong competition, he was quick to recognise the scale of the challenge facing the Party.
“I think the people of Maidstone and Malling have selected a local representative because we know we’ve got a hell of a mountain to climb here if we’re to beat that Reform insurgency, if we’re to win back votes from Lib Dems and other parties. And I think the people on the night felt that I was best placed to deliver.”
That is a realistic assessment of the electoral arithmetic.
Maidstone and Malling is a constituency the Conservatives cannot afford to take for granted. Helen Grant retained the seat in 2024 with a majority of just 1,674 and the political landscape has changed considerably since then. Reform UK presents a challenge to the Conservative vote, while the Liberal Democrats and other parties are equally determined to make inroads.
Thompson knows that winning the selection is only the beginning.
I asked Thompson where he believed the Conservative Party now stood and what gave him confidence about the next election.
“I think we’re in a really good place. I was at conference just the other week and that was a really exciting, lively conference. But I also think about the process I’ve just been through. As I say, with some excellent candidates, the Conservative Party is in really safe hands and the candidates that we’ve got coming through are showing a competency and a conviction for conservative values that I think can only mean a renaissance of our great party.”
For Thompson, the celebrations will be brief. The real contest starts now.
Matthew Jeffery is a ConservativeHome columnist and attended the final selection meeting.
David Thompson has been selected as the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Maidstone and Malling, securing an outright victory on the first ballot against two formidable opponents, Matt Boughton and Mario Creatura.
He will now lead the Conservative campaign at the next General Election as Helen Grant prepares to stand down from Parliament.
Thompson secured more than 50 per cent of the vote, meeting the required threshold of ’50 per cent plus one’ and avoiding the need for any further rounds of voting. It was an impressive result in a contest featuring three candidates with substantial political experience and strong Conservative credentials.
It would be wrong to report this result without recognising the exceptional calibre of the two unsuccessful finalists. Matt Boughton and Mario Creatura were both superb on the night and either would have made an excellent Conservative Parliamentary candidate. Both possess substantial experience in politics, public service and campaigning and both deserve further opportunities to put that experience to use.
All three delivered superb performances on the night, presenting different strengths, experiences and visions for the Party’s future. For members, it was a difficult choice but Thompson emerged with a clear mandate and was visibly jubilant as the result was announced.
Speaking to me exclusively for Conservative Home, just moments after his selection, Thompson could barely contain his delight.
“I feel ecstatic and look, it’s been a really hard process. I’ve been up against some great candidates from right across the piece but I am over the moon to being selected to represent the place I call home and looking forward to fighting as hard as I can at the next general election.”
For Thompson, this was a particularly personal victory. He lives in West Malling with his wife Aurore, has spent more than a decade living in the constituency and has served as Chairman of the local Conservative Association. He is also a long-standing parish councillor, a committed local campaigner and someone who has already invested considerable time in defending the communities he now hopes to represent at Westminster.
His professional background is equally substantial. Currently the British Council’s Director of UK and External Relations, he leads a global external relations function and oversees a £20 million commercial operation. Previously, he worked for the Russell Group and ran the Westminster office of the late James Brokenshire, gaining firsthand experience of the demands of parliamentary life.
His personal story is rooted in a working-class family in south-east London. Raised with the influence of grandparents who had served their country and worked hard throughout their lives, he attended grammar school before becoming the first in his family to go to university. It is an upbringing that has shaped his belief in meritocracy, personal responsibility and the importance of giving people the opportunity to succeed through their own efforts.
Those convictions have also been evident in his community work. During the pandemic, he established West Malling Volunteers to support vulnerable residents, while his campaigning helped raise £30,000 to protect the historic setting of St Mary’s Abbey from inappropriate development. He has also travelled to Ukraine as part of an aid convoy, raising funds for a vehicle carrying medical supplies and generators.
When I asked why he believed members had chosen him over such strong competition, he was quick to recognise the scale of the challenge facing the Party.
“I think the people of Maidstone and Malling have selected a local representative because we know we’ve got a hell of a mountain to climb here if we’re to beat that Reform insurgency, if we’re to win back votes from Lib Dems and other parties. And I think the people on the night felt that I was best placed to deliver.”
That is a realistic assessment of the electoral arithmetic.
Maidstone and Malling is a constituency the Conservatives cannot afford to take for granted. Helen Grant retained the seat in 2024 with a majority of just 1,674 and the political landscape has changed considerably since then. Reform UK presents a challenge to the Conservative vote, while the Liberal Democrats and other parties are equally determined to make inroads.
Thompson knows that winning the selection is only the beginning.
I asked Thompson where he believed the Conservative Party now stood and what gave him confidence about the next election.
“I think we’re in a really good place. I was at conference just the other week and that was a really exciting, lively conference. But I also think about the process I’ve just been through. As I say, with some excellent candidates, the Conservative Party is in really safe hands and the candidates that we’ve got coming through are showing a competency and a conviction for conservative values that I think can only mean a renaissance of our great party.”
For Thompson, the celebrations will be brief. The real contest starts now.