Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs

This week Westminster will welcome 140 new Members of Parliament. Meet the MPs who will help shape this country's future.



Nickie Aiken

Cities of London & Westminster

Majority: 3,953

The leader of Westminster City Council, and former a consultant, Aiken began her career working in the press office of the Welsh Conservatives, before moving to London to become the head of PR at Bradford & Bingley and associate director of Liquid PR. She has also worked as a crisis management trainer. First elected to Westminster City Council in 2006, she served in a number of roles in the Council’s Cabinet, including children’s services and public protection. Westminster City Council’s Children’s services went on to make history as the first in the country to be rated “Outstanding” by Ofsted. In 2016 she became the Conservative group leader and a year later became Council Leader.



Lee Anderson

Ashfield

Majority: 5,733

Despite a campaign mired in controversy, with moments of toe-curling embarrassment, former miner Lee Anderson has pulled off the unlikely feat of going from working for the local Labour MP to becoming the constituency’s first Conservative MP in four decades. Born and raised in the town, Anderson took part in the miner strikes in the 1980s. He later worked in the local Citizen’s Advice Bureau and homeless hostels before going on to be office manager for the Labour MP Gloria De Piero. Originally elected as a Labour councillor, he was deselected as a candidate in January 2018 and quit the party in March 2018, citing a “hard left” takeover. He joined the Tories, arguing that they were now the party of aspiration. Anderson’s campaign priorities were education, crime and hospitals. He called for the foreign aid budget to be halved and invested domestically instead. But during his campaign he sparked outrage after posting a video on Facebook calling for nuisance tenants to be made to live in “a tent, in the middle of a field” and forced to “pick potatoes”. He was also caught staging an apparently spontaneous doorstep encounter while on the campaign trail with veteran journalist Michael Crick.



Stuart Anderson

Wolverhampton South West

Majority: 1,661

Army veteran and security expert Stuart Anderson has successfully taken Wolverhampton South West for the Conservatives. Having joined the army after leaving school, he was shot in the foot in his first year of service, two days before his 18th birthday. Anderson’s foot was saved with surgery and, although it was thought he would never walk again unaided, he went on to spend eight years in the Royal Green Jackets, undertaking three operational tours, including active duty in Northern Ireland. After leaving the army Anderson worked in the private defence and security sector, travelling extensively, briefing heads of military and providing diplomatic close protection to a foreign prime minister. He later became managing director of security firm which went into administration and ended up losing his house. Anderson then went on to start a new business in travel security in 2013 – eTravelSafety – using AI to assess the risk level of destinations around the world.

Sarah Atherton

Wrexham

Majority: 2,131

Brought up locally and educated a comprehensive school, Atherton joined the Army Intelligence Corps. After having a son, she retrained as a nurse and then became a social worker specialising in the elderly and mental health. She became a local councillor in 2017, and stood unsuccessfully for the Welsh Assembly in 2018. Atherton describes herself as a passionate Brexiteer, and believes the state should only play a minimal part in how people live their lives.

Gareth Bacon

Orpington

Majority: 22,378

Having led the Conservative Party on the Greater London Assembly, Bacon has moved across London to the House of Commons, replacing the prime minister’s brother, Jo Johnson, in the safe seat of Orpington. A London Borough of Bexley councillor since 1998, Bacon was first elected to the GLA in 2008, later becoming chair of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. A former student of politics at Kent University, he later worked financial recruitment. Bacon has campaigned on issues such as the local green belt and increasing police numbers.

Duncan Baker

North Norfolk

Majority: 14,395

Educated at the independent Beeston Hall school in Norfolk, Baker took Business Studies at Nottingham Trent University before qualifying as a chartered account at Baker Tilly International. Later joining the CT Baker Group in 2008 as the Finance and Business Development Manager, he was promoted to the Board in 2012. Baker became involved in local politics 10 years ago, becoming a local councillor and was mayor of his local area, Holt, at 35. A Leave backer in 2016, he says making a success of Brexit is his priority, alongside boosting social mobility and protecting the natural environment.

Shaun Bailey

West Bromwich West

Majority: 3,799

Trainee solicitor Shaun Bailey has taken West Bromwich West for the Conservatives for the first time in its 45-year history. Raised in a single parent family, Bailey studied law and French at Aberystwyth University and legal practice at the University of the West of England.

After his studies he worked in a number of paralegal roles, becoming a trainee solicitor at Barclays this year. Fluent in French, Bailey is a self-taught Welsh speaker.

Siobhan Baillie

Stroud

Majority: 3,840

Originally from North Yorkshire, Baillie left school at 17 to work as a legal secretary and then studied law in the evenings and weekends to quality as a solicitor without going to university. She specialised in family law. Having spent 17 years in the legal profession in 2016 she moved to work for a charity in a policy role, but she gave up work in order to become a full-time candidate. She has spoken out about the need for legal rights for cohabiting couples and has pushed for support for families, children’s mental health and wellbeing, and teaching relationships in schools.

Simon Baynes

Clwyd South

Majority: 1,239

A former banker and bookseller, Baynes grew up near Lake Vyrnwy, where his father ran a hotel. He attended Shrewsbury School and studied history at Magdalene College, Cambridge. After a career in finance – Baynes worked for JP Morgan Cazenove from 1982 to 2006 – he then went on to run a second hand book shop. He was a Councillor on Powys County Council from 2008 to 2012, where he was joint leader of the Conservative group, and a councillor on Llanfyllin Town Council. He wants to see the creation of more sustainable jobs and better mobile phone signal in the area, and has campaigned against the closure of local banks and maternity services.

Aaron Bell

Newcastle-under-Lyme

Majority: 7,446

Business analyst, serial TV gameshow contestant and former Krypton Factor winner Aaron Bell has won his most notable prize yet in gaining the marginal seat of Newcastle-under-Lyme for the Tories. A graduate of PPE from Oxford, Bell has had numerous successes on TV gameshows in the past, winning £25,000 on Deal or No Deal, reaching the University Challenge final, and winning The Krypton Factor aged 29. Bell has been a trading development manager for Bet365, as well as being a senior business analyst at DivideBuy, a financial technology firm which he helped launch and employs 40 people in the town centre. His campaign priorities were to regenerate the town centre, crack down on anti-social behaviour and bring jobs to the area. He voted to Leave the EU, as did the constituency.

Scott Benton

Blackpool South

Majority: 3,690

Councillor and parliamentary aide Scott Benton has successfully taken Blackpool South for the Conservatives. Born and brought up in the Huddersfield and Brighouse area, Benton studied theology at Nottingham University. Formerly a primary school teacher, he then went on to work as a parliamentary assistant to Calder Valley MP Craig Whittaker. Leader of the Conservative Group on Calderdale Council, Benton unsuccessfully stood as a Conservative candidate for the Northern Ireland Assembly, having been ‘parachuted’ in to stand in Strangford in March 2017. In June the same year he made an unsuccessful at taking Huddersfield for the Conservatives. Benton has campaigned to re-open the local airport for commercial passenger flights to boost tourism to the area.

Saqib Bhatti

Meriden

Majority: 22,836

The youngest ever president of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. Born in Walsall in 1985, and privately educated at the King Edward VI School for Boys in Edgbaston, he read law at the LSE before becoming an assistant manager within Financial Services Industry Group at Deloitte. A committed Brexiteer, Bhatti was on the National Board for Vote Leave and was also the Deputy Chair for the Andy Street 2020 Campaign. A director in his family’s accountancy firm since 2011, Bhatti cites his father “who moved to the UK in the 1960s in pursuit of the ‘Great British Dream’,” as his biggest influence, for teaching him “the values of hard work, integrity and determination which have driven my life so far”. A supporter of charities providing education and training for women around the world, Bhatti raised £27,000 for the charity Prostate Cancer earlier in the year, including jumping out of a plane.

Sara Britcliffe

Hyndburn

Majority: 2,951

Sara Britcliffe becomes the youngest Conservative MP after winning Hyndburn from Labour for the first time since 1992. The 24-year-old’s father, Peter, failed twice to represent the constituency in 1997 and 2001. Britcliffe, a Manchester University graduate, defeated Graham Jones, who had held the seat since 2010. The former sandwich shop owner won her father’s old St Andrew’s ward on Hyndburn council in May 2018



Paul Bristow

Peterborough

Majority: 2,580

Public affairs consultant Paul Bristow has taken Peterborough back for the Conservatives at his second attempt – becoming the constituency’s fourth MP in three years after Stewart Jackson, Fiona Onasanya and Lisa Forbes. A history graduate, Bristow has worked for former MP Richard Spring and in a variety of public affairs roles, including running his own business, PB Consulting, which he set up in 2010. A former Hammersmith and Fulham councillor, he has previously stood for election in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland in 2010. Bristow said his vision for Peterborough was to bring jobs and investment to the area, while day to day dealing with congestion, fly-tipping, crime and housing.

Anthony Browne

South Cambridgeshire

Majority: 2,904

Finance expert, journalist and former think tank head Anthony Browne has added another string to his bow by retaining South Cambridgeshire for the Conservatives following his predecessors defection to the Lib Dems. Born and raised in the city, he studied maths at Cambridge University, and has had a wide and varied career – including stints as a journalist at the BBC, The Times and the Observer – before becoming the director of the think tanks Policy Exchange and Localis, and chief executive of the British Bankers’ Association. Having previously worked for Boris Johnson, when he was both mayor of London and editor of the Spectator, Browne had the PM’s personal backing for his selection. And just like his former boss, some of his earlier writing came back to haunt him during the election campaign, including pieces claiming that immigration had been the cause of HIV in the UK, and accusations that Muslims has divided loyalties. In a familiar defence he said that he had merely been deliberately provocative but did not mean to cause offence, saying he regretted writing them as they did not reflect his actual views. Stating that the environment, countryside and climate change are close to his heart, Browne also campaigned on the NHS, local schooling and public transport.

Felicity Buchan

Kensington

Majority: 150

Kensington provided one of the shocks of the 2017 election when Labour’s Emma Dent Coad won by just 20 votes. A repeat victory was always a tall order. The backbencher failed to hang on as Felicity Buchan regained the seat for the Tories. Buchan was educated at her local comprehensive Fraserburgh Academy in Aberdeenshire, before going on to Oxford University to study law. She has a background in financial services. After leaving the City she volunteered at a children’s charity in North Kensington and is the chair of governors of Bousfield Primary School. She stood unsuccessfully in 2015 and 2017.



Rob Butler

Aylesbury

Majority: 17,373

Rob Butler is the latest in a long line of Conservative MPs to represent the safe seat of Aylesbury – though unlike his europhile predecessor, David Lidington, Butler voted Leave. A broadcaster and justice expert, he was born in Aylesbury, but grew up in Oxfordshire and studied French and Economics at the University of Sheffield. From there he moved into broadcast journalism, working at the BBC (including BBC World) ITN and Channel 5, hosting his own news programme, presented documentaries, crime series and even a quiz show. Later he became a self-employed communications and corporate affairs adviser as well as taking up several roles in the public sector, including as a local magistrate, school governor and a variety of Ministry of Justice boards including a recent stint as non-executive director at Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service.

Andy Carter

Warrington South

Majority: 2,010

Local businessman, magistrate and parish councillor, Andy Carter has taken Warrington South for the Conservatives. With an AMP in strategy from Pennsylvania University, he had an early career as a radio journalist, before later working for a number of radio businesses including the Guardian Media Group and Real and Smooth. In 2014 he launched his own consultancy business Shoebridge, working with retailers on their private label ranges and introducing new brands.

Miriam Cates

Penistone and Stocksbridge

Majority: 7,210

Sheffield born Miriam Cates has taken a former Labour stronghold for the Conservatives. After studying genetics at Oxford, she trained as a science teacher at Sheffield Hallam University, gaining a PGCE and worked at a local school in Sheffield. A councillor at Bradfield Parish Council since 2015, Cates is a finance director and owner of Redemption Media, a technology consultancy company.



Elliot Colburn

Carshalton & Wallington

Majority: 629

A former parliamentary assistant to Paul Scully, Elliot Colburn has followed in his former employer’s footsteps by taking a marginal Liberal Democrat seat for the Conservatives. Born and raised in the area, Colburn studied politics at Aberystwyth University, and has worked as a public affairs officer in the NHS. Elected as a councillor in 2018, his partner Jed is also a councillor and a parliamentary assistant, as well as the editor of a poultry magazine: the couple have poultry of their own which they take to shows. Colburn voted Leave in the 2016 EU referendum, as did 56% of his constituency.

Claire Coutinho

East Surrey

Majority: 24,040

Former Downing Street special adviser and “committed Brexiteer” Claire Coutinho, is the daughter of doctors from India, who emigrated to the UK in the 1970s, and was privately educated at James Alleyn’s in Dulwich before taking maths and philosophy at Oxford. After a stint as an associate at Merrill Lynch, she worked for both the Centre for Social Justice (co-authoring a report on Financial Inclusion and Fintech) and the Housing and Finance Institute, before moving to KPMG to lead its national education programme. Having been asked to help implement Brexit in 2017 – and frustrated by its slow delivery – Coutinho resolved to leave KPMG and deliver Brexit “from the inside”, joining the Treasury as a special adviser.

Theo Clarke

Stafford

Majority: 14,377

The founder and former chief executive of the Coalition for Global Prosperity, and a former Director of the Conservative Friends of International Development. Clarke leads her party’s international social action project in Sierra Leone, and has delivered education, enterprise and employability training in several African countries. In 2011 Clarke set up her own business, an arts blog called Russian Art and Culture, which she sold in October 2016. This venture evolved into curating exhibitions and writing a book about contemporary art. She is also co-founder of the Association of Women in the Arts.

Brendan Clarke-Smith

Bassetlaw

Majority: 14,013

Teacher Brendan Clarke-Smith has taken Bassetlaw for the Conservatives for the first time since 1929. Clarke-Smith grew up on a council estate in Nottingham and was the first in his family to attend university, studying politics at Nottingham Trent and later gaining a PGCE in religious education. He later become the Head of an International School in Romania. A councillor since the age of 22, Clarke-Smith was a member of the Bassetlaw Vote Leave campaign which secured 67.8 per cent of the vote in the referendum. He has previously stood twice for election to the European Parliament. Aside from Brexit, his priorities are improving the local hospital, and education.



Christopher Clarkson

Heywood & Middleton

Majority: 663

Manchester politician Chris Clarkson has won Heywood and Middleton for the Conservatives from Labour’s Liz McInnes. Originally from Ribble Valley, Clarkson studied law at Dundee University and has worked as a corporate development manager for IRIS Legal before becoming a corporate development consultant for Virgin. A member of the Countryside Alliance, Clarkson campaigned to Leave during the 2016 EU referendum.

Virginia Crosbie

Ynys Môn

Majority: 1,968

Virginia Crosbie is the first Conservative MP in this region of Wales since Keith Best’s win in 1979. After specialising in microbiology at Queen Mary University, London, she gained a diploma in management studies at the University of Westminster. Crosbie has had an extensive and varied career: as well as stint as a dolphin trainer for Terry Nutkin, she worked at GlaxoWellcome, was pharmaceutical analyst at UBS – becoming one of the youngest directors in the company’s history. In a change of career direction, Crosbie then became a maths teacher. In 2017 she became the director of Women2Win, a leading campaign to elect more Conservative women to Parliament, later working as a senior researcher for economic empowerment for Maria Miller MP.

James Daly

Bury North

Majority: 105

Solicitor and leader of the Conservative group on Bury Council, Daly unseated Labour’s James Frith to win Bury North for the Tories. Brought up by a single mother who studied to become a social worker while raising him, Daly said that her hard work and determination to make a better life for the family inspired him to become a Conservative. A partner of a local law firm, Daly said he hopes to use his legal experience to make the criminal justice system work for everyone.



Gareth Davies

Grantham & Stamford

Majority: 26,003

Born and raised in Yorkshire, Davies went on to study politics at the University of Nottingham and public administration at the JFK School of Government at Harvard. He joined global investment company Columbia Threadneedle Investments, working with some of the largest pension funds in the world in the United States, across Europe, China and the wider Asia Pacific. A champion of ‘responsible capitalism’, he served on a national government task force advising the Treasury and the Cabinet Office on how private capital can be used for public good, and in 2018 was identified as one of Europe’s ‘rising stars’ by Financial News for his work. The son of a state primary school teacher, Davies was state educated and says he “believes passionately in our state schools”.

Dehenna Davison

Bishop Auckland

Majority: 7,962

With a subtle Twitter profile name of “Dehenna #GetBrexitDone Davison” (her first name rhymes with Vienna) the new Conservative MP for Bishop Auckland was a R&D Technical Analyst at North Durham firm LUMO, which specialises in tax credit business advice. A self-described “muscle car, baseball and fluffy animal enthusiast”. Davison says she learnt about injustice at an early age, when her father was killed by a “single punch” when she was only 13 years old, leaving her family to endure several rounds of court proceedings. Although only in her mid-twenties, Davison is already an election veteran, having stood in Sedgefield in 2017. She also made the newspapers last year after featuring in a Channel 4 show Bride and Prejudice with her fiancé, John Fareham – a Hull councillor 35-years her senior.



Sarah Dines

Derbyshire Dales

Majority: 17,381

Family lawyer Sarah Dines lived in Essex and worked in London when she was selected for this safe Conservative seat. Although her family roots are in farming, and she grew up in a council house and was educated at a local comprehensive school before going on to study at study at Brunel University. From there she went to the Inns of Court School of Law and was called to the bar in 1988. As a barrister she specialised in family law, handling all aspects from complex financial and business assets to cases with social care involved, or international child law. During the election campaign she said her priorities were saving the green belt from development and improving digital connectivity for the area. And having represented many vulnerable members of society as a family lawyer, Dines says she is well aware of the domestic economic and social problems facing modern families.



Mark Eastwood

Dewsbury

Majority: 1,561

Brought up by a single parent on a council estate in Batley, Eastwood left school and went straight to work in sales as an insurance clerk. He has worked in business in the manufacturing sector, when selected he worked for a firm supplying medical furniture and equipment to the NHS. He has been a Dewsbury County Conservative Association Chair and a Yorkshire and Humber representative of the Conservative Workers and Trade Unionists. His priorities include supporting local businesses, getting young people onto the housing ladder and protecting green spaces.

Ruth Edwards

Rushcliffe

Majority: 7,643

A cyber-security expert, Edwards most recently led Commercial Strategy and Public Policy for BT’s Cyber Security Team, which helps to protect BT and consumers from cyber-attack. After studying at the London School of Theology and Bristol University, Edwards worked for the Home Affairs Select Committee before becoming Crime and Justice Research Fellow at Policy Exchange. She hopes to use her background to support better use of new technologies to transform public service delivery and help Britain to lead the world as a flagship green economy. Edwards says she believes passionately in the power of mentoring, and was recently awarded an ISG Paragon ‘Woman in Technology’ award for helping young women into technology careers. She lives in Hickling, where her and her husband keep alpacas, chickens, bees and a tortoise, Geoffrey.

Natalie Elphicke

Dover

Majority: 12,278

A housing finance policy expert, and the wife of the former MP for the seat. Originally a barrister with experience in complex housing financial situations, Elphicke moved into the housing policy arena by setting up her own company Million Homes, Million Lives. In 2015 she co-wrote the Elphicke-House Report on the role of local authorities in housing supply, which influenced government decision-making. She was the New Homes Quality Champion helping to set up a new Housing Ombudsman and has also been an adviser in MHCLG. She was awarded an OBE in 2015 for services to housing. Outside housing but still within the finance sphere, she was a non-executive Director for the Student Loans Company. She was selected unanimously to replace her husband as the candidate for the constituency in 2019, with the local party chair saying her national policy experience and local campaign history would make her a ‘first class candidate’.

Luke Evans

Bosworth

Majority: 26,278

A general practitioner and son of a doctor and nurse and married to a fellow GP, Evan’s selection initially caused controversy after he was chosen over local candidates. A Leave voter, Evans says he is ‘not scared’ of no deal, and that the option must be kept on the table for leverage in future trade deal talks with the EU.

Ben Everitt

Milton Keynes North

Majority: 6,255

Consultant, councillor and former farmer, Ben Everitt has held the marginal Milton Keynes North seat for the Conservatives after the previous MP, Mark Lancaster, stood down. With a rural farming background, he studied education at Durham University before working for various government departments. He became a consultant, most recently head of strategy at the Institute of Chartered Accountants, where he worked for seven years. First elected as a councillor in 2015, he campaigned to protect Milton Keynes from unrealistic expansion, and to attract new businesses to the area. Everitt voted to Leave the European Union.

Laura Farris

Newbury

Majority: 16,047

A Barrister specialising in employment and public law, Farris was born in Bucklebury, Berkshire and attended the University of Oxford, reading philosophy politics and economics. The daughter of a former Newbury Conservative MP – Michael McNair-Wilson – she previously stood for Leyton and Wansted in the 2017 general election. Although she voted Remain in the 2016 referendum, she says she is focused on supporting the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal. Her other priorities include protecting the environment, mental health and education.

Simon Fell

Barrow & Furness

Majority: 5,789

Anti-fraud campaigner Simon Fell has taken back Barrow and Furness from the Labour party, the first time the seat has turned blue since 1987. The previous MP, John Woodcock, had a serious falling out with the Labour leadership – quitting the party whilst already suspended – and had urged voters to back Fell, saying he was the man to work with the government to keep the submarine programme on track in the area. Born in Lancashire, and brought up in Ulverston, Fell studied English language and literature at Warwick University. He worked in the telecoms industry, running a communications business. More recently he became director at CIFAS, an anti-fraud organisation. Since 2009, Fell has been a member of the British Council’s TN2020 network of future leaders. He is in favour of Trident renewal and voted Leave in 2016.

Katherine Fletcher

South Ribble

Majority: 11,199

A businesswoman who runs her own woodworking firm, which makes and restores furniture and even has its own range of magic wands. Fletcher – who previously stood unsuccessfully in the 2015 election – has also worked for Northern Powerhouse Partnership, George Osborne’s think tank, and at one point ran guided safari tours on a big game reserve.

Mark Fletcher

Bolsover

Majority: 5,299

Mark Fletcher praised Dennis Skinner as a “wonderful constituency MP” after he ousted the Beast of Bolsover from parliament, becoming the first Tory to win the Derbyshire seat since its creation. Fletcher, who grew up in Doncaster and was raised by his mother, attended Cambridge University. He stood for election in 2015 and 2017, falling short in Doncaster North and Stockton North respectively. He acted as campaign manager to George Freeman during the 2010 election, and worked for Lord Popat, the Government trade envoy to Uganda and Rwanda. He was a freelance communications author when he was selected in 2019.

Nicholas Fletcher

Don Valley

Majority: 3,630

Local businessman and director of Doncaster Chamber, Nick Fletcher has won Don Valley for the Conservatives, defeating Caroline Flint – the sitting Labour MP since 1997. Born in Armthorpe, Fletcher attended the local comprehensive school. He gained a HNC in electrical electronic engineering in 1992, later setting up his own electrical contracting business, Analogue Electrics, in Doncaster in 1994.

Peter Gibson

Darlington

Majority: 3,294

Solicitor Peter Gibson has won Darlington to become its first Conservative MP since 1987. Born in Middlesbrough and raised in Redcar and Saltburn, he studied law at Newcastle University, later acquiring his own legal practice in 2006 and expanding the business to nine offices across the region. It was taken over by the national law firm Kingly Solicitors in 2019, with Gibson as managing director. Although Gibson voted Remain in the 2016 referendum, he says the decision to Leave must be delivered.

Jo Gideon

Stoke-on-Trent Central

Majority: 670

A long-standing councillor and businesswoman in Kent, originally from the West Midlands. A small business owner for over twenty years, Gideon studied French and German at university and had spells working in Germany and the Middle East. She was a councillor in South Thanet for 12 years and also served as a school governor and charity trustee. She then moved to Ashford Borough Council in 2019 where she was a cabinet member. Gideon wins a seat at her third attempt, after losing in Scunthorpe in 2015 and Great Grimsby in 2017. She has three adult children and three grandchildren. Gideon also acted as a full-time carer to her father, a D-Day veteran.



Andrew Griffith

Arundel & South Downs

Majority: 22,521

Appointed as chief business adviser to the prime minister only in July this year, Griffith

was previously chief operating officer at Sky, a chairman of Just Eat, and a former Rothschild investment banker. Although he lives in his constituency with his family, he is perhaps better known for his Westminster residence, after he lent Boris Johnson his £9.5m townhouse during the Conservative leadership campaign last summer.

Kate Griffiths

Burton

Majority: 14,496

Former hospitality coordinator and single mum Kate Griffiths has replaced her ex-husband Andrew Griffiths as MP for Burton, having defeated him for party’s nomination. Only eight weeks after the birth of their daughter in 2018 it had been revealed that he had sent thousands of unsolicited sexual messages to two female constituents. Andrew Griffiths subsequently resigned as minister and was suspended by the party, only to have the whip reinstated for the vote of no confidence in Theresa May later that year. However, at a fraught selection contest last month, Kate Griffiths made a surprise bid for the seat resulting in her ex-husband to standing aside and pledging his support for her. Although she did not seek, or accept, his offer of support she said her decision to stand was not an act of retribution. Born and raised in Burton, Griffiths studied classics at Exeter University and is a former corporate hospitality coordinator at the local Burton Albion football club. Among her priorities, she said she wanted to be a “strong voice” for abuse survivors as well as addressing investment for the high streets of Burton and Uttoxeter, improving the NHS and road safety.



James Grundy

Leigh

Majority: 1,965

Councillor James Grundy is the first Conservative MP for the seat that had been Labour for nearly a century. A lifelong resident of Leigh, Grundy went to the University of Central Lancashire.



Jonathan Gullis

Stoke-on-Trent North

Majority: 6,286

School teacher Jonathan Gullis has turned Stoke-on-Trent North blue for the first time in its 70-year history. Working as a head of year in a Birmingham secondary school when he was selected, Gullis has been a NASUWT union rep and is secretary of the Conservative Education Society. Unsurprisingly, one of his priorities is education policy; he has written articles on ConservativeHome about how the party can attract teachers to vote Tory instead of Labour.

Sally-Ann Hart

Hastings & Rye

Majority: 4,043

Despite moments of controversy during her election campaign, Sally-Ann Hart retained the Hastings and Rye constituency for the Conservatives. Born and brought up in Northumberland, Hart studied Geography at Kings College, London and went on to study legal practice at the College of Law, Lancaster Gate. A corporate solicitor, and a Hastings magistrate in the adult criminal and family proceedings courts, Hart has written for ConservativeHome on a variety of local issues. Formerly a Rother District councillor, her tenure as cabinet member for public realm, culture and tourism was not without incident, when in August 2016, five men drowned at Camber Sands. At the time she was the responsible authority for the beach, and the public face of the council. Hart also had a difficult general election campaign after allegations that she shared an anti-Semitic tweet, and outrage at her contribution at a hustings event, when she defended sharing an article – suggesting that disabled people could be paid less than minimum wage – by stating “some people with learning difficulties, they don’t understand money”. Hart voted Leave in the 2016 referendum.



Darren Henry

Broxtowe

Majority: 5,331

Former squadron leader, councillor and rugby union referee, Darren Henry brought Broxtowe back into the Conservative fold after the previous MP, Anna Soubry, broke away from the Tories to set up TIG. Originally from Bedford, Henry left the RAF after 26 years to study logistics management at Lincoln University, subsequently working in the private sector as a programme manager for Carillion – providing facilities at NHS Great Western Hospital in Swindon – and as general manager of a food distribution company. Henry was elected to Wiltshire Council in 2017 and was chair of the Wiltshire Conservative Area Council.

Anthony Higginbotham

Burnley

Majority: 1,352

Anthony Higginbotham became the first Tory MP in Burnley since 1910 when he ousted Labour’s Julie Cooper by 1,352 votes. The Lancastrian, whose grandmother was a nurse and mother a healthcare assistant, worked in the NHS after graduating from Hull University. Prior to entering parliament, he worked for NatWest, ensuring the bank is able to help customers once the UK leaves the EU. One of four siblings, his mum was a trade union respresentative and his dad held down two jobs.

Richard Holden

Durham North West

Majority: 1,144

Former Chris Grayling advisor Richard Holden claimed one of two Shadow Cabinet scalps as he won North West Durham for the Conservatives. The seat, which had been represented by shadow employment rights secretary Laura Pidcock for two years, turned blue for the first time in its history. Holden worked for the Conservative Party for eight years, first as a data administrator in August 2007, then a press officer, and finally the Deputy Head of Press. He worked on Theresa May’s leadership campaign and as a Spad to Grayling in the DfT and subsequently education secretary Gavin Williamson.

Paul Holmes

Eastleigh

Majority: 15,607

Former special adviser and public affairs professional Paul Holmes has succeeded in holding onto Eastleigh for the Conservatives following Mims Davies’ decision to decamp to another seat. A graduate of politics and international relations from Southampton University, Holmes was elected to Southampton City Council whilst still studying. Describing himself as personally “committed” to the “power of education to give people the best start in life”, he became chair of Southampton Children’s Trust Board as well as cabinet member for children’s services and learning. Holmes was senior parliamentary adviser to Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond, whilst he was rail minister, and then spent 18 months at the communications agency Portland. Holmes was subsequently appointed special adviser to the Conservative Party chairman Patrick McLoughlin; first secretary of state, Damian Green, and to education secretary Damian Hinds before becoming head of public affairs at Clarion Housing Group in 2018. Holmes voted Leave in the EU referendum.

Paul Howell

Sedgefield

Majority: 4,513

In a result that captured Labour’s plight, Conservative candidate Paul Howell won Tony Blair’s former seat of Sedgefield. The retired accountant was elected as a Councillor to Durham County Council for the Aycliffe North and Middridge ward in 2017. In 2019 he became a councillor for the Hummersknott ward, at Darlington council. He is the first Tory MP to represent Sedgefield, a constituency with a strong mining history, since 1931.

Neil Hudson

Penrith & The Border

Majority: 18,519

His third try at his third seat, equine vet and university lecturer Neil Hudson is the new MP for Penrith and the Border following Rory Stewart’s decision to leave for London. After qualifying as a vet at Cambridge, he studied at Sydney University, and the Edinburgh University School of Veterinary Studies, becoming the director for the postgraduate equine science programme. Hudson’s priorities are increasing flood protection and improving transport links and job opportunities in order to encourage young people to stay in the local area.

Jane Hunt

Loughborough

Majority: 7,169

Serial trier Jane Hunt has finally become an MP after fighting four general elections in three seats. A former sales manager for a telecommunications company, Hunt has also worked as a civil servant as well as for a national charity. A caseworker for her predecessor Nicky Morgan for nine years, Hunt has been a Charnwood councillor since 2003, holding cabinet roles. She previously unsuccessfully stood in Leicester East in 2010 and Nottingham South in both 2015 and 2017.

Tom Hunt

Ipswich

Majority: 5,479

The appropriately named former Countryside Alliance media manager, and chief of staff to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayor, Tom Hunt has won the marginal seat of Ipswich for the Conservatives. Born and raised in Ely, Hunt attended the independent King’s School and Hills Road Sixth Form College. He read politics and modern history at Manchester and Russian, Central European, East European and Eurasian studies at Oxford. A senior parliamentary assistant to Oliver Dowden MP from 2015 to 2016, Hunt moved to the Countryside Alliance as a media relations manager before being appointed chief of staff to the Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough James Palmer in 2017. A former district councillor, Hunt’s campaign priorities for Ipswich were infrastructure, crime, opportunities for young people, the town centre and health services. He was a supporter and campaigner for Vote Leave during the 2016 referendum.

Mark Jenkinson

Workington

Majority: 4,176

Technical author and councillor Mark Jenkinson has beaten Labour, overturning Sue Hayman’s majority of 3,925. He had previously stood for the seat as a UKIP candidate in 2015. Leaving school with an ONC in electrical and electronics engineering, Jenkinson has worked as a mechanical and electrical systems project engineer and then as a technical author at Costain Oil, Gas & Process; Cavendish Nuclear, and Jacobs. The deputy leader of Allerdale Borough Council, he runs a Workington-based print and embroidery business with his wife



David Johnston

Wantage

Majority: 12,653

Social mobility expert David Johnston left the Social Mobility Foundation after a decade to find a new challenge as the MP for Wantage. After studying history and politics at Oxford, he worked for the Oxford Access Scheme which encouraged young people to consider further education, before becoming director of the charity Future Academies, and then chief executive of the SMF. Johnson received an OBE for his work and was a director on the Social Mobility Commission for five years until he (and all other members of the commission) quit in 2017 over the lack of progress the government was making towards a fairer Britain. This sentiment does not seem to have been assuaged – writing only recently for ConservativeHome, Johnston said that social mobility appeared to be lower on the agenda in Parliament than “at almost any other point in the past 10 years”, stating “too many people in the UK feel the country doesn’t work for people like them”.

Fay Jones

Brecon & Radnorshire

Majority: 7,131

A public affairs professional, who used to work for Prince Charles, Fay Jones has won Brecon and Radnorshire back from the Lib Dems – the seat changing hands after only four months following a byelection in August this year. Born and brought up in Cardiff, Jones has since lived in London and Brussels before moving back to the area. As well as working in as in the private office of Prince Charles, Jones has also worked for the NFU and Defra – farming is a key interest, especially the issue of male suicide in farming.

Simon Jupp

Devon East

Majority: 6,708

A former radio presenter for local stations Radio Exe and Radio Plymouth, Jupp also worked for the BBC and ITV, working his way up to manager of BBC Radio Solent in Dorset. He then swapped journalism for politics – working as a special adviser to the mayor of the West of England and to Dominic Raab as foreign secretary.

Alicia Kearns

Rutland & Melton

Majority: 26,924

A counter-terrorism expert and Cambridge graduate, Alicia Kearns has worked for the Foreign Office, MoD and the Ministry of Justice. She has advised 70 governments on how to defeat ISIS and led interventions in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and across the world, managing crisis responses to incidents from Middle East issues to prison riots to nuclear leaks. During the campaign she said she is first and foremost a democrat, and that her priorities were “ending rural disadvantage and securing the funding we deserve, tackling rural crime, protecting rural life and delivering Brexit”.

Imran Ahmad Khan

Wakefield

Majority: 3,358

Global business mogul Imran Ahmad Khan broke through the ‘Red Wall’ to take a seat that had been Labour since 1932. Born in Wakefield to a consultant dermatologist and a midwife, Khan went to a local private school, then to King’s College London where he studied theology and war studies. A strategic and communications expert, Khan has worked across the UK, the USA, and Canada as well as Somalia, Afghanistan, Syria and Pakistan, founding four companies which worked with governments, before working as a special assistant to the United Nations. He had just taken up a role in M&C Saatchi a few months before the election was called. At the start of his campaign he literally parachuted in from a plane in response to accusations that he had been ‘parachuted’ into the seat. Arguing that the people of Wakefield have been ignored for too long, Khan has pledged to bring jobs and investment, and to fight for the Northern Powerhouse.



Danny Kruger

Devizes

Majority: 23,993

A former speech writer to David Cameron and Telegraph leader writer, Kruger was most recently political secretary to Boris Johnson – a role he held for only four months before standing down to become an MP to lend his support to the prime minister from within the Commons instead. The son of TV chef Prue Leith, he grew up on a farm and went to Eton before studying history at Edinburgh and later gaining an DPhil at Oxford. He founded a project working in prisons to stop criminals re-offending, Only Connect, with his wife Emma, and also worked for West London Zone, a charity supporting at risk children. He received an MBE for his work in 2017.

Robert Largan

High Peak

Majority: 590

Robert Largan has won the marginal seat of High Peak against the incumbent Labour MP, Ruth George. Born in Manchester, Largan studied at Manchester University, whilst working behind the fish counter at Asda, before moving to London and to become a chartered accountant. A former Hammersmith and Fulham Borough councillor, he has also previously worked as a parliamentary assistant to the Conservative MP for Chelsea and Fulham, Greg Hands.

Ian Levy

Blyth Valley

Majority: 712

In the first symbolic moment of election night, lifelong Blyth Valley resident Ian Levy turned his hometown blue for the first time in its history since the seat was established in 1950. An NHS worker specialising in mental health, Levy had previously stood for election in 2017 where he received the highest ever vote achieved by a Conservative with 16,000 votes, almost double that obtained by the party in 2015. This time round he got 17,440 votes, winning a majority of over 700 in this former mining community. Levy campaigned to return all passenger rail services to the Blyth Valley, a scheme endorsed by Boris Johnson, and funding for a relief road for Blyth which is supported by Transport for the North and other major highways improvements. Blyth Valley voted 60% Leave in 2016.

Chris Loder

West Dorset

Majority: 14,106

A train guard who progressed up the career track to become head of new trains at South Western Railway, Loder has previously led on UK-international high-speed rail travel for Deutsche Bahn and oversaw the Waterloo station upgrade programme. Despite working in London, he still lives on the Dorset family farm he grew up on. A former assistant verger, parish clerk and councillor, Loder was chair of the West Dorset Conservative Association and voted leave in the EU referendum.

Mark Logan

Bolton North East

Majority: 378

Management consultant and former diplomat Mark Logan defeated Labour to turn the seat of Bolton North East blue for the first time since 1996. Logan grew-up in Ballymena and has a law degree from Queen’s University Belfast, and postgraduate degrees from Oxford and LSE. A fluent mandarin speaker, he has worked across the globe, including 10 years in China, and also for the Foreign Office. Logan was the chief spokesperson at the British Consulate-General in Shanghai and founded Oxford PR, a strategic communications consultancy.

Marco Longhi

Dudley North

Majority: 11,533

Marco Longhi has won the marginal seat of Dudley North, 14 years after he contested neighbouring Dudley South. Born in Walsall, he grew up in Rome with an Italian father who worked for an airline. After studying at Manchester and Warwick Business School, Longhi trained as a pilot, but moved into civil engineering, the oil and gas industry and construction and development companies. He worked across the globe, from the USA to Brazil and the United Arab Emirates, has set up multiple businesses. A landlord, he owns many properties in Walsall, he was elected as a Walsall councillor in 1999, including a stint as a cabinet member for public health, and became mayor in 2017. A prominent figure in the Vote Leave campaign, his local priorities are regenerating brownfield sites, tackling knife crime and to focus on mental health.

Cherilyn Mackrory

Truro & Falmouth

Majority: 4,561

A councillor and former IT worker with a passion for the environment, Cherilyn Mackrory has retained Truro for the Tories. Born in Scarborough, Mackrory has worked as an IT Project Manager across the UK and overseas, as well as for two local MPs: Scott Mann and Steve Double. Locally she has been an organiser of litter-picks and beach cleans, saying she wanted to tackle single-use plastics and protect the environment. She has worked with Final Straw to push a plastic-free aim for St Austell – and was involved in the Plastic Free Parliament campaign when she was a staff member in Westminster, as well as working on the APPG for Ocean Conservation. Mackrory voted Leave in the 2016 EU referendum.

Anthony Mangnall

Totnes

Majority: 12,724

Conservative candidate Anthony Mangnall defeated incumbent Sarah Wollaston to become MP for Totnes. Wollaston, running as a Lib Dem, defected from the Tories earlier this year. Mangnall, a former aide to William Hague and ex-special advisor, grew up in Northern Ireland and Zimbabwe. He studied History, Politics and Sociology at Exeter. He stood down as a special adviser to former Wales Secretary Alun Cairns when he was selected as the Totnes candidate. He stood to be MP for Warley in 2017, losing out by more than 16,000 votes.



Julie Marson

Hertford & Stortford

Majority: 19,620

A former banker, councillor and magistrate, Julie Marson was born in Barking and became the first member of her family to go to university, reading modern history at Cambridge. After a City career in international banking, she left to raise her son, describing her ideals as “family values, hard work and self-reliance”. She has since worked in her local community as a councillor in Thanet. A life-long eurosceptic, Marson was on the board of Women for Britain, which campaigned for Leave during the 2016 referendum. She lists her policy priorities as education, healthcare, job prospects and housing.

Jerome Mayhew

Broadland

Majority: 21,861

Managing director of Go Ape, Jerome Mayhew, was Broadlands’ second choice after the previous candidate, Nick Conrad, withdrew after becoming mired in controversy. The son of former Northern Ireland Secretary, Lord Mayhew, he was a personal injury and commercial litigation lawyer, spending 10 years at Temple Garden Chambers, before moving to his brother’s adventure forest business. Prioritising the overlooked rural elements of his constituency, Mayhew wants to ensure a fair share of the police recruits – and of the budget for rural mobile and broadband connections.

Robin Millar

Aberconwy

Majority: 2,034

Engineer and councillor Robin Millar held Aberconwy for the Conservatives following the previous MP Guto Bebb’s decision to stand down after he lost the party whip. Born and educated in Bangor, Millar studied civil engineering at Manchester University. He worked in Cambridge, Russia, the Netherlands and USA as an engineer before setting up Millar Consulting, helping to transform public services, local government and membership organisations. In 2017 he was appointed strategic director of the British Veterinary Nursing Association. A West Suffolk councillor, Millar has been director of the Conservative Christian Fellowship since 2009.

Gagan Mohindra

South West Hertfordshire

Majority: 14,408

Gagan Mohindra has taken back the South West Hertfordshire seat from Tory defector David Gauke. With a BSc in Mathematics from King’s College London, Mohindra founded the specialist property investor, Chromex Group, four years after graduating, working there until 2015. Very involved at a local political level, he has been a member of two councils – Epping Forest District and Essex County – and was a cabinet member at country level. A member of Conservative Friends of India, he previously stood in the safe Labour seat of North Tyneside in 2010, coming third.

Robbie Moore

Keighley

Majority: 2,218

Chartered surveyor Robbie Moore has won the marginal seat of Keighley back for the Conservatives.

Moore studied architecture at Newcastle and rural surveying at the University College of Estate Management. A qualified rural chartered surveyor, he set up his own consultancy practice, Brockthorpe Consultancy. A councillor on both Alnwick Town Council, and Northumberland County Council, Moore’s selection as the parliamentary candidate for a Yorkshire seat in August was unpopular with residents in his North East council area, sparking calls for him to resign from his posts.

Joy Morrissey

Beaconsfield

Majority: 15,712

Joy Morrissey managed to hold on to the safe Beaconsfield seat despite competition from former Tory and legal brain Dominic Grieve. Originally from Ohio, she grew up on a farm and was briefly an actor and producer before moving to the UK. An LSE graduate, she worked at the Centre of Social Justice, and has worked in China, India and crisis zones including Albania and Kosovo during the Balkan conflict. Morrissey will be familiar with Westminster protocol having also previously worked for Tory MPs Angie Bray and Will Quince. She voted to Leave in the EU referendum and aside from Brexit her priorities are grammar schools, opposition to HS2 and the expansion of Heathrow.

Kieran Mullan

Crewe & Nantwich

Majority: 8,508

Dr Kieran Mullan, an A&E doctor, swung the Crewe and Nantwich seat back to the Conservatives, defeating Labour’s Laura Smith. The rugby fan was an independent advisor in the inquiry into NHS complaints procedures in England, in 2013. The volunteer special constable founded ValueYou, a volunteer recognition scheme in Ealing where he works as CEO. He first stood for the Tories in 2015 in Birmingham Hodge Hill and Wolverhampton South East two years later. He voted Brexit at the 2016 EU referendum.

Holly Mumby-Croft

Scunthorpe

Majority: 6,451

A local councillor and former mayor, Holly Mumby-Croft has become Scunthorpe’s first Conservative MP since the seat’s creation in 1997 after she defeated Nic Dakin. The daughter of a Scunthorpe steelworker, and a North Lincolnshire councillor, she was North Lincolnshire’s Health Scrutiny Chair, and has a record of holding hospital managers to account.



Lia Nici

Great Grimsby

Majority: 7,331

After 74 years of Labour dominance, councillor and media executive Lia Nici has won Great Grimsby for the Conservatives, defeating Melanie Onn. A former executive producer of Estuary TV – Grimsby’s community television channel – for seven years, Nici became a self-employed TV producer in 2018. When asked during her campaign whether the Tories were to blame for the failure to leave the EU, Nici instead blamed people in northern towns with Labour MPs who voted against democracy. Her opponents said she was treating her constituents with contempt. Great Grimsby voted 71 per cent for Leave in 2016.



Tom Randall

Gedling

Majority: 679

Vernon Coaker had held the ultra marginal seat of Gedling since 1997, but Tory efforts to take the seat have finally paid off. New MP Tom Randall grew up in Arnold and studied locally at Redhill School. He later went on to read law at Oxford. He has had a varied career, from working as a solicitor and dealing with commercial clients to working on an Olympic game. Most recently he worked for a professional membership body.

Nicola Richards

West Bromwich East

Majority: 1,593

A local councillor aged just 24, Nicola Richards pulled off an impressive swing to overturn Labour’s 7,713 majority and win West Bromwich East for the Conservatives for the first time in its 45 year history. Describing herself as born and bred in the Black Country, Richards studied politics at Birmingham University, graduating in 2016, and has been on Dudley Council since 2015. She also has been active in local party groups, as Chair of the Young Conservatives and Deputy Chair of the Dudley South group in charge of the 2019 local election campaigns. She worked for three different MPs, Chris Kelly, Mike Wood and Margot James. She worked for the Jewish Leadership Council and for the Holocaust Educational Trust in public affairs roles, before returning to party politics and working as a Content Creator for Andy Street as West Midlands Mayor.

Angela Richardson

Guildford

Majority: 3,337

Originally from New Zealand, Richardson has a background in investment banking operations, having worked in the City of London for Schroders and Axa Investment Managers. A former deputy chairman of the Guildford Conservative Association and a national officer of the Conservative Women’s Organisation. Richardson also spent time as a stay-at-home mum to her three children, one of whom has autism.



Rob Roberts

Delyn

Majority: 865

A mortgage adviser, Roberts has worked in the financial services for sixteen years, beginning as an Independent Financial Advisor and Manager at Chesterton Grant from 2003-2009 before moving on to become the Head of Mortgage Services at LIFT-Financial Ltd. He moved on to become a Wealth planner before co-founding A Transparent Financial Solution, a financial advice service based in the Delyn constituency. He speaks English and French and became the first fluent Welsh speaker in his family.

Dean Russell

Watford

Majority: 4,433

A published author, artist, campaigner, digital consultancy owner – Dean Russell has many strings to his bow. After retaining Watford for the Conservatives, he can now add MP to his list of achievements. The Birmingham-lad has a masters in Physics and Material Science from De Montfort University. He worked in marketing and digital communications while also acting as a special advisor to the British Interactive Media Association and a judge for the Third Sector Excellence Awards. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce, and the Vice Chair of a regional Federation of Small Business.



Gary Sambrook

Birmingham, Northfield

Majority: 1,640

Gary Sambrook has gone from working for an MP to being an MP after he unseated Labour’s Richard Burden. Sambrook studied human resources management and public relations at Birmingham City University, before going into politics as a party Campaign Manager and parliamentary assistant to James Morris MP. He’s been a councillor in the city since 2014. He said his campaign focus was education, housing and regeneration.



Selaine Saxby

North Devon

Majority: 14,813

Consultant, parliamentary staffer, fitness expert and maths teacher, Selaine Saxby has held the seat vacated by Peter Heaton-Jones. Graduating from Cambridge with a degree in mathematics and management, Saxby became an award-winning businesswoman running an independent sports bra retailer for 16 years, before working for former Bath MP Ben Howlett. After starting a business consultancy providing support to charities, she was elected to North Devon Council, and founded Pink Aerobics which raised over £500,000 for breast cancer charities.



David Simmonds

Ruislip, Northwood & Pinner

Majority: 16,394

A Hillingdon councillor and financier, Simmons grew up in Pontypridd before studying at Durham, Birkbeck and latterly international relations at De Montford University. He became the youngest London councillor when he was elected aged 22, and spent two decades in local government. A former Deputy Chair of the National Conservative Councillors’ Association, he also led the LGA Children and Young People Board, the Improvement and Innovation Board and the Asylum and Refugee Task Group, where he worked with the government on the Syrian refugee resettlement programme.

Greg Smith

Buckingham

Majority: 20,411

Smith, a Hammersmith and Fulham Councillor for 12 years, replaces John Bercow as MP for Buckingham following the former Speaker’s resignation. A Leave campaigner, Smith was regional coordinator for the South East in Boris Johnson’s leadership campaign. He is on the record against HS2, and against building on the greenbelt.



Ben Spencer

Runnymede & Weybridge

Majority: 18,270

As a consultant psychiatrist, Spencer has worked in the NHS across a variety of hospitals. The Vice-chair of Conservative Health has been elected at the second attempt – in 2017 he stood in Camberwell and Peckham against Harriet Harman, where he lost by a margin of 37,316 votes. Mental health is, unsurprisingly, a priority, however Spencer has spoken of the dangers of a “hyperbolic” debate about the issue and last year penned a piece for ConservativeHome in which he warned that talk of a “mental health epidemic” was “doing real harm”.

Alexander Stafford

Rother Valley

Majority: 6,318

In a real blow to Labour, Alexander Stafford has won the marginal seat of Rother Valley – the first Conservative MP in the seat’s hundred year history. While not from Rother Valley, Stafford has ties to the area with family from Dinnington. A graduate of history from Oxford, Ealing councillor and communications specialist, Stafford has worked for two MPs, various public affairs consultancies, the World Wildlife Fund and Shell.

Jane Stevenson

Wolverhampton North East

Majority: 4,080

Former Wolverhampton Vote Leave campaigner, and local councillor, Jane Stevenson has turned Wolverhampton North East blue for the first time since 1987. A professional singer, Stevenson won a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music in 1990 and has performed or taught singing in over 40 countries. As well as a six-point plan to regenerate the city centre, Stevenson campaigned on road safety, improved transport links and a tree-planting scheme.

James Sunderland

Bracknell

Majority: 19,829

After a career in the British Army, Colonel James Sunderland becomes MP for the town in which he was born and raised. A former army officer at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, Sunderland was also commander of the Army Engagement Group, which interacts with the public to provide understanding about the role and function of the army. His priorities during the campaign included the NHS and social care, school funding and a safe and healthy environment.

Laura Trott

Sevenoaks

Majority: 20,818

A former adviser to David Cameron – she received an MBE for her work at Downing Street in the former PM’s resignation honours – Laura Trott fought off a challenge from former MP and ardent Brexiteer Stewart Jackson to win the selection for one of the safest Conservative seats in the country. She grew up in Oxted and went to Oxford University; the first from her family to attend any university. After impressing in a variety of adviser roles, firstly in the Conservative Party and then for Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude, in 2012 Trott was poached to advise Cameron on education and family policy. After co-authoring the 2015 election manifesto she was promoted to Director of Strategic Communications. Following Cameron’s downfall, she went into the private sector as a partner at Portland.

Matthew Vickers

Stockton South

Majority: 5,260

Trainee solicitor and constituency agent Matthew Vickers won the Stockton South constituency in his first election, defeating Labour’s Paul Williams. Vickers studied law at Teesside University and the University of Law, and has served on Stockton’s Crime and Disorder Committee and Cleveland’s Police and Crime Panel. He has also previously unsuccessfully stood as a candidate for Cleveland’s Police and Crime Commissioner. Vickers was the constituency agent for both William Hague and Rishi Sunak (in Richmond).

Christian Wakeford

Bury South

Majority: 402

Christian Wakeford has won Bury South back for the Conservatives, helped in part by the sitting MP Ivan Lewis – who was standing as an Independent after resigning from the Labour party following sexual harassment claims – withdrawing from the race a week before polling day and calling for voters to back Wakefield to stop Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister. With degrees in politics and chemistry, Wakeford worked as an account manager for IT company Daisy for four years before becoming a caseworker to Andrew Stephenson MP. He has since worked for West Craven Insurance Services. A councillor at Lancashire County Council and a district councillor at Pendle Council, Wakefield was the North West co-ordinator for Boris Johnson’s leadership campaign earlier this year. Wakefield said his priorities were cutting youth unemployment rates and reducing crime through tougher punishments.

Jamie Wallis

Bridgend

Majority: 1,157

After 32-years in Labour hands, Bridgend has fallen to the Conservative Jamie Wallis. Wallis grew up in Porthcawl and studied Chemistry at the University of Oxford, before doing a PhD in Planetary Astronomy and Science at the University of Wales. The Managing director of UK Digital Solutions, he also owns Fields Associates, a digital forensic consultancy. Wallis was a former Pencoed town councillor, but he was excused from the council after it emerged that he had not attended any meetings for a period of six months. Wallis claimed he had sent a resignation letter to the council when he moved from Pencoed to Cowbridge. He later took up a position on the Cowbridge Town Council which he held until he announced his candidacy for the constituency.

Suzanne Webb

Stourbridge

Majority: 13,571

Businesswoman Suzanne Webb beat off competition from Nick Timothy, Theresa May’s former joint chief of staff, to win the Tory candidacy in Stourbridge after Margot James stood down. She is a professional auditor and has had senior leadership role for a global logistics provider. In the 2016 referendum she voted to remain, but by 2019 described herself as a proud Brexiteer.



James Wild

North West Norfolk

Majority: 19,922

Another senior special adviser, Wild was working in Number Ten when the election was called, and is also a former adviser to then secretary of state for defence, Michael Fallon. The husband of the Leader of the Lords, Baroness (Natalie) Evans of Bowes Park, Wild previously ran against Norman Lamb in North Norfolk in 2017.

Jacob Young

Redcar

Majority: 3,527

Chemical Engineer Jacob Young, a prominent leave campaigner, unseated Labour MP Anna Turley to become the first ever Conservative MP for Redcar. He first stood for the seat aged 22 in 2015, and lost in Middlesbrough two years later. Young has lived on Teesside since birth, studying at Redcar and Cleveland College, and chemical engineering at Teesside University. Like his father and grandfather, who both worked in the chemical industry, Young worked as a Process Operator on Teesside. He is a former councillor for Coulby Newham.

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LABOUR

Tahir Ali

Birmingham, Hall Green

Majority: 28,508

A councillor on Birmingham City Council since 1999, Royal Mail worker Tahir Ali was the also the Midland’s political officer for the Communications Workers Union. Ali was selected in this safe Labour seat when the previous incumbent Roger Godsiff was deselected after he supported the Anderton Park Primary School anti-LGBT+ protestors. Ali pledged instead to unite the local community, and said that education should break down intolerance. Among his priorities is the funding for statutory and voluntary sector services for young people.

Fleur Anderson

Putney

Majority: 4,774

An environmental and anti-poverty campaigner, Anderson has worked in development for 20 years with Christian Aid, CAFOD and Water Aid, including in Bosnia during and after the war and in Kenya for four years. Born on the Channel Island of Jersey, she studied politics at York and development management at the OU. She was elected as a councillor in 2014, and has campaigned for local issues such as a 20 miles per hour limit on roads, and air quality near schools. Most recently she has run a local community centre in London, with services for older people, young people, refugees and families. In this role she says she seen the effect of austerity up close, and pledges to campaign to bring back Sure Start centres.

Paula Barker

Liverpool Wavertree

Majority: 27,085

The daughter of a single parent, Barker says her socialist views were shaped by witnessing her mother’s daily struggles. A trade union activist – she succeeded Angela Rayner as Unison’s North West regional convenor – and council worker, Barker is firmly to the left of the party, describing herself as a “staunch supporter” of Jeremy Corbyn, voting for him in both his leadership campaigns. Her candidacy was backed by both Momentum and several trade unions. Previously a supporter of Brexit – although her safe Labour of Liverpool Wavertree voted strongly to Remain – Barker now says her views have evolved after witnessing the chaos caused by the Conservative government. Her interests include green space development, council housing, jobs and care workers.



Apsana Begum

Poplar & Limehouse

Majority: 28,904

A former local party secretary, and a member of Momentum’s national coordinating group, Begum has a public sector background, including social housing. Firmly on the Labour left, she was the Labour leadership’s preferred candidate. From a Bangladeshi background, Begum was born and raised in Tower Hamlets, and studied at Queen Mary, University of London. A member of the London Labour executive committee, and she has been the branch secretary, and equalities officer for the local constituency party. During the election campaign she faced calls to stand down after being linked to Tower Hamlets’ Momentum group, who posted anti-Semitic tweets about a Jewish Conservative councillor. Begum however denied she had anything to do with the tweet or the account. She apologised for sharing a Facebook post accusing Saudi Arabia of being inspired by Zionist masters, saying she had wanted to share the content of the article about treatment of pilgrims being harassed in the Mecca Grand Mosque, not the comment. She said she was committed to fighting anti-Semitism in the party and in wider society. Her key campaigns are to protect public services and to tackle inequalities.

Olivia Blake

Sheffield Hallam

Majority: 712

Blake grew up in North Leeds with four siblings and a single mother, before moving to Sheffield to study biomedical science at university. She went on to work for the NHS and in political communications. Elected a councillor in 2014, she rose to become the Deputy Leader of the Council, but quit her cabinet role along with colleagues in August 2019 – the group said they wanted a committee system rather than cabinet system of council leadership. She opposes austerity, and first got involved in party politics in 2010 by attending anti-cuts demonstrations and campaigning against tuition fee raises. She lists her top priorities as public services and climate change.

Ian Byrne

Liverpool West Derby

Majority: 29,984

A printer and taxi driver who studied part time with Open University for his history degree, Byrne was working for neighbouring Liverpool MP, Walton’s Dan Carden, when he was selected for West Derby. Backed by John McDonnell and Momentum, Byrne had faced fierce competition in his bid to secure the seat, winning by just two votes after a recount. Controversy erupted soon after when it was revealed Byrne had made offensive and misogynistic Facebook comments about various political and public figures including Michelle Mone, Esther McVey and Prince William. Byrne apologised saying he’d made the comments several years ago before he was politically active, and that he would not have used that kind of language today. An Everton councillor, Byrne is committed to reversing the damage done by austerity, saying that he understands the struggle to make ends meet after his experience of being made redundant three times in his 24-year career as a printer. A Unite organiser – he has worked with NHS sub-contacted workers – Byrne also co-founded Fans Supporting Foodbanks, a grassroots initiative for Liverpool and Everton supporters.

Feryal Clark

Enfield North

Majority: 6,492

Labour’s first Kurdish MP, Feryal Clark inherited her safe seat from TIG defector Joan Ryan. Originally from Turkey, Clark studied bioinformatics at Exeter University and then worked in diagnostic biochemistry and virology for four years, including at University College Hospital and Barts. First elected as a Hackney councillor in 2006, she has been a cabinet member – for Neighbourhoods; and for Health, Social Care, Leisure and Parks – and deputy mayor. She was reported to have backed Yvette Cooper in the 2015 leadership election, and is a member of Unison.

Florence Eshalomi

Vauxhall

Majority: 19,612

Eshalomi was selected on the fourth round for the seat, knocking out the Momentum favourite, and Jeremy Corbyn’s former political secretary, Katy Clark. London Assembly member for Lambeth and Southwark and a former Brixton Hill councillor, Eshalomi has previously worked in a number of campaigning and public affairs roles, including for the Runnymede Trust, the Labour Party and the Four Communications agency. The eldest of three girls from a single parent family, Eshalomi was the first member of her family to go to university, studying Political & International Studies with Law at Middlesex.

Alex Davies-Jones

Pontypridd

Majority: 5,887

A councillor on Rhondda Cynon Taf Council since 2017, Davies-Jones was working as a community engagement manager for Dwr Cymru Welsh Water when she was selected for her safe Labour seat. A graduate of law and politics from Cardiff University, she had been a youth representative for the Co-operative Party, Labour Party, and Unite union before going on to work in both the National Assembly for Wales (for Mick Antoniw AM) and at the House of Commons for her Pontypridd predecessor, Owen Smith. After having her son in March this year, she shared her experiences of having a C-section on an overstretched maternity ward and being send home after two days while her son remained in hospital as they needed her bed. She has also spoken about the need to end austerity, protect the NHS, and the redress Labour had planned for WASPI women – an issue which had personally affected her mother.

Mary Foy

City of Durham

Majority: 5,025

A Yarrow girl and local councillor who grew up on a council estate, Foy faced stiff competition to be selected for this safe Labour seat, winning by one vote at the second count. A socialist, Corbyn loyalist and member of both Unite and Unison, her bid was supported by several trade unions. The daughter of a shipyard worker who lost his job in the 1980s, she started her working life on a YTS training scheme – later gaining a social sciences degree as a mature student – and went on to be a Development Worker at Durham City District for Council Voluntary Service. Previously a parliamentary assistant to the former MP for Jarrow, Stephen Hepburn, Foy has also chaired the local party and represented the Northern region on Labour’s national policy forum. The mother of three children – her daughter Maria suffered brain damage at birth causing cerebral palsy – and a Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing at Gateshead Council, Foy cites the NHS as one of her main priorities, especially after her experience as a mother and carer to a disabled daughter.

Rachel Hopkins

Luton South

Majority: 8,756

A HR professional and councillor born and raised in Luton. The daughter of Kelvin Hopkins, former MP for the neighbouring seat. After studying at Leicester and Bedfordshire universities, she worked as a review Manager at the Electoral Commission before moving into a number of HR roles at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority from 2008 to 2017. Hopkins has been a councillor on Luton Borough Council since 2011, and held the cabinet post of executive member for public health.

Kim Johnson

Liverpool Riverside

Majority: 37,043

Trade unionist, grandmother and adult social care worker, Kim Johnson has replaced Louise Ellman in the safe Liverpool Riverside seat, becoming Liverpool’s first ever black MP. After her selection, Johnson predicted victory would bring mixed emotions – pride at being Liverpool’s first black MP combined with the sadness at representing a black community “invisible to anyone not from the city”. A Unison shop steward and anti-racism campaigner – she was deputy chair of the union’s National Black Members Committee – Johnson was the creative diversity manager in Liverpool’s Capital of Culture bid team from 2005-08, and has previously worked on Surestart and childcare strategy at the DFES. Johnson is also the chair of the café, arts and health initiative, Squash, which won the BBC Food and Farming Awards Best Shop award earlier this year.

Nav Mishra

Stockport

Majority: 10,039

NEC member and former John Lewis worker, Navendu Mishra has held Stockport for Labour in the wake of its former MP Ann Coffey defecting to TIG and standing down. The founder of Stockport Momentum, Mishra had previously stood for election in his home constituency of Hazel Grove in 2017 when he won the highest ever vote share for Labour, although he still came third. His selection for the seat was backed by nine trade unions and Momentum, subsequently winning by a landslide conducted entirely by postal votes. Mishra backed Jeremy Corbyn in the 2015 and 2016 leadership elections.

James Murray

Ealing North

Majority: 12,269

London housing campaigner James Murray moved from City Hall to Westminster Hall when inherited the safe seat of Ealing North. A graduate of PPE from Oxford University, Murray has previously worked for Emily Thornberry, and was deputy mayor of London for Housing under Sadiq Khan until he was selected for his seat. Backed by Unite and GMB, and was seen as Labour leadership’s preferred candidate. He has previously worked on Jeremy Corbyn’s election campaign, and advised him on housing issues. Unsurprisingly given his previous roles, housing is his key policy area, stating his campaign priorities as rent control and rights for tenants. In a former role as an Islington councillor Murray would block developments that lacked high levels of affordable and social housing. He had also spoken about the need for shared ownership and high density accommodation without building tower blocks.

Charlotte Nichols

Warrington North

Majority: 1,509

A trade unionist and community activist, the 28 year-old spent five years working for Usdaw and has been a GMB Research and Policy officer. She had some experience of Parliament already as the secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Adult Social Care.

Abena Oppong-Asare

Erith & Thamesmead

Majority: 3,758

Former councillor and City Hall researcher Abena Oppong-Asare held Erith and Thamesmead for Labour in 2019 following the retirement of Teresa Pearce. With a BA in politics and international relations from Kent University, followed by a LLM in international law with international relations, Oppong-Asare has held a number of roles in the House of Commons including as a parliamentary assistant and constituency liaison officer as well as advising the shadow minister for Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls. She has also been the equalities policy lead at City Hall and was seconded in 2017 to be a Grenfell community liaison manager. A Bexley councillor from 2014 to 2018, Oppong-Asare served as deputy leader of the opposition and shadow cabinet member for Education. During her time as councillor she campaigned for more affordable housing, better parking for residents and to keep fire engines in Erith.

Kate Osborne

Jarrow

Majority: 7,120

Trade unionist, registered foster carer, and North Tyneside councillor, Kate Osborne was selected as the candidate for Jarrow after Labour’s NEC refused to endorse the former MP Stephen Hepburn. A Unite National Trade Union Representative at Royal Mail until her election, she also served as a union representative on Labour’s national constitutional committee.

Taiwo Owatemi

Coventry North West

Majority: 208

With Geoffrey Robinson stepping down, Taiwo Owatemi was selected for the safe Labour seat of Coventry North West. Owatemi is from Greenwich and has a masters degree in pharmacy from the University of Kent. She worked as a Senior Oncology Pharmacist, specialising in cancer and palliative care. Owatemi undertook an internship at the Houses of Parliament, run by the Social Mobility Foundation; learning to draft policies alongside former Tory minister Oliver Letwin. Owatemi’s priorities include the future of the NHS, ending the housing crisis and tackling knife crime.

Sarah Owen

Luton North

Majority: 9,247

The first woman MP of East Asian origin – and chair of Chinese for Labour. The selection of Owen – a member of the NEC and a former political officer at the GMB – initially caused controversy after local Labour activists accused the union of “forcing” a candidate on them. She has significant public sector experience, having worked as a care worker, in local government and for the fire brigade. She previously stood in her hometown constituency of Hastings & Rye against Amber Rudd in 2015. Owen’s Twitter bio states that she “hates inequality & VAWG” and “loves anything food related” and “as a consequence, also exercise”.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy

Streatham

Majority: 17,690

A socialist, feminist, anti-Racist and Unite union member, Ribeiro-Addy is a former chief of staff and political adviser to Diane Abbott. Born and raised on Brixton Hill, Ribeiro-Addy is of Ghanaian origin. She describes Brexit as an “unmitigated disaster” and will be campaigning to Remain, she also cites tackling youth violence as a particular priority.

Zarah Sultana

Coventry South

Majority: 401

Zarah Sultana, a Labour party community organiser who stood in the 2019 European elections, succeeds Jim Cunningham as MP for Coventry South. Born and raised in the West Midlands, Sultana is a University of Birmingham graduate. She apologised after a tweet from 2015 resurfaced stating “try and stop me when the likes of Blair, Netanyahu and Bush die.” Sultana reiterated that the comments were made at a time when she was a student, and “was written out of frustration rather than any malice.” Sultana is a member of the UK and Irelands largest trade union, Unite the union.

Sam Tarry

Ilford South

Majority: 24,101

A trade unionist and former Barking and Dagenham councillor, Sam Tarry held Ilford South for Labour, beating the former MP Mike Gapes, who stood for The Independent Group for Change. An accomplished organiser and polished media performer, expect Tarry, who describes his predecessor as “a warmonger”, to be a leading figure on the party’s left. “We aren’t afraid to say we are socialists”, he told the Economist. Tarry grew up in Ilford, working at the local Sainsbury’s and in call centres to pay his way through university. He was the first elected chair of Young Labour, worked as a campaign Organiser for Hope not Hate, a political officer for the TSSA Union and chaired the CLASS think-tank. Tarry was also Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign director during both leadership campaigns.

Claudia Webbe

Leicester East

Majority: 6,019

Born in Leicester and raised locally, Webbe studied race and ethnic relations at the University of London before going on to establish and chair Operation Trident, an independent advisory group that focuses on the effects of gun crime on black communities. She also worked as an adviser on the issue to then London Mayor Ken Livingstone. Webbe was elected to Islington Council in 2010 and served as Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport. She described the 2011 England riots as “venting of anger” and “a wake-up call for society” resulting from tensions over inequality, poverty, unemployment, and policing tactics. An early supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, and a member of Labour’s National Executive Committee since 2016, Webbe’s selection to replace Keith Vaz as candidate here sparked controversy and triggered the resignation of the constituency party chair, who described the choice as “a fix” and criticised the lack of engagement with the local British Indian community.

Mick Whitley

Birkenhead

Majority: 17,705

A lifelong local resident, Whitley’s father, mother and brothers worked in the shipbuilding industry. After time in the Merchant Navy, Whitley worked at a car plant, where he became involved in the union as a shop steward and a convener. He rose to become North West Regional Secretary at Unite in 2013, before moving to work full time as a community activist in 2017. His selection was backed by a variety of unions: Unite, FBU, RMT, BFAWU and Aslef all formally endorsed his candidacy, as well as Momentum. He describes his politics as “totally opposed” to those of his predecessor, Frank Field, and has called for “radical solutions for Birkenhead”, listing his priorities as local jobs, an end of zero hours contracts, investment in local public transport and the protection green spaces from luxury developments.

Nadia Whittome

Nottingham East

Majority: 17,393

Nottingham born and bred, the 23-year-old former care worker Nadia Whittome has pledged to accept a ‘worker’s wage’ of £35,000 – and donate the rest of her MP’s salary to charity. After studying law as a mature student at the University of Nottingham, Whittome became a hate crime project worker and trainer at the social enterprise, Communities Inc.

Bethan Winter

Cynon Valley

Majority: 8,822

Academic and born-and-bred Cynon Valley girl Bethan Winter beat Steve Bray to hold onto this seat for Labour following the retirement of sitting MP Ann Clwyd. With a Swansea University doctorate on disadvantage among older people in rural communities, and a masters degree in housing studies, Winter has worked in community development, housing and homelessness, and on a variety of social care and research projects into ageing. Her priorities include ending austerity, stopping privatisation of the NHS and tackling climate change.

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LIBERAL DEMOCRAT

Wendy Chamberlain

Fife North East

Majority: 1,316

A former police officer Chamberlain worked for a local force as well as the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and the Scottish Police College. She then became a development and training manager, working for a Ministry of Defence contractor providing transitional and employment support to those leaving the military, and then a global drinks manufacturer. She has also done some part-time college lecturing. Her priorities were opposing a Scottish independence referendum, investment in education at all levels and better health services including for mental health.

Daisy Cooper

St Albans

Majority: 6,293

Campaign director and committed Remainer Daisy Cooper has won St Albans for the Lib Dems at her second attempt. Originally from Suffolk, Cooper studied law at Leeds University and gained an LLM in public international law at Nottingham University. Having worked at the Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth Advisory Bureau, and the VSO, Cooper then took up the post of executive director of Hacked Off, before moving to the role of executive director of campaigns at More United. A former Lewes councillor, Cooper contested the Liberal Democrats President election in 2014, coming second to Baroness Brinton. She was campaign director to Jo Swinson during the Liberal Democrats Leadership campaign in 2019.



Munira Wilson

Twickenham

Majority: 14,121

Public affairs professional, Munira Wilson has held Twickenham for the Lib Dems after the former party leader, Vince Cable, retired. Since studying French and German at Cambridge, Wilson has worked for charities, the NHS and most recently as a corporate affairs director at Merck, across its healthcare divisions. A former West Twickenham councillor, Wilson stood in Feltham and Heston in the 2010 general election, coming third. She has campaigned to protect EU citizens’ access to the NHS, to prevent Heathrow expansion, and is committed to acting on the climate emergency.

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SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY

Steven Bonnar

Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill

Majority: 5,624

An SNP councillor for North Lanarkshire, Bonnar was previously an internal auditor for the John Lewis Partnership, and before that a loss prevention supervisor at both Debenhams and BHS.

Amy Callaghan

East Dunbartonshire

Majority: 149

Proving SNP lightning can strike a politician twice – even if they’re a party leader – Jo Swinson has lost her seat for a second time in four years after Amy Callaghan won East Dunbartonshire in one of the election night’s most memorable moments. After studying politics at Strathclyde University, Callaghan went on to work at the Scottish Parliament for MSPs Aileen McLeod and Rona Mackay. In 2011, when she was only 19 years-old, Callaghan was diagnosed with skin cancer and credits the NHS with saving her life. Callaghan has worked on a collaborative project with Teenage Cancer Trust, CLIC Sergeant and Children with Cancer UK, to produce a British Medical Journal paper, which she hopes will give medical professions an understanding of the damage cancer does to mental health.

Dave Doogan

Angus

Majority: 3,795

SNP Councillor at Perth & Kinross Council, Doogan is an aircraft engineer and graduate of University of Dundee where he studied Politics and International Relations. Previously caused controversy when he made references to “redcoats” and “quislings” during a debate on the Gaelic language, forcing Nicola Sturgeon to condemn any comments which seek “to divide people on the basis of ethnicity” after his speech was raised in Holyrood as being “anti-English”.

Allan Dorans

Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock

Majority: 2,329

Former detective inspector, councillor and personnel executive, Allan Dorans won back Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock for the SNP after the sitting Tory MP, Bill Grant, retired. The constituency has now been represented by three parties since its creation in 2005. Born and brought up in Dailly, Dorans attended Carrick Academy and went on to have a career in the Metropolitan Police, becoming a Detective Inspector by the age of 28. Leaving the police after 17 years, he became a personnel and training executive at Butlins Wonderwest World in Ayr.

Stephen Flynn

Aberdeen South

Majority: 3,990

The group leader on Aberdeen City Council, one of the most affluent constituencies in the UK as a result of oil wealth, Flynn was born and raised in Angus. He worked for the then MP, Callum McCaig, in the same seat for the two years McCaig was in the role and has since worked as a part-time Office Manager to Maureen Watt MSP.

Kenny MacAskill

East Lothian

Majority: 3,886

A surprise re-entrant to front-line politics, the former cabinet secretary for justice in the Scottish Parliament, Kenny MacAskill, has decided to move his ambitions to Westminster, winning East Lothian for the SNP. A senior partner for an Edinburgh law firm until his election to the Scottish Parliament, he represented three different Scottish Parliamentary constituencies in his time from 1999 until his retirement in 2016. MacAskill held a number of shadow minister roles between 1999 and 2007 and was cabinet secretary for Justice from 2007 to 2014. While in this role MacAskill refused the prisoner transfer request for Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, convicted for the Lockerbie bombing, to Libya but did authorise his release in 2009 after he met the criteria for compassionate release – reaction to the decision was divided. He stepped down as MSP in 2016 and authored several books, including a biography of Jimmy Reid.

Alyn Smith

Stirling

Majority: 9,254

An MEP since July 2004, Smith was born in Glasgow, growing up between Scotland and Saudi Arabia. Previously a solicitor at the commercial law firm Clifford Chance, he is also a former adviser to the shadow Scottish fisheries minister and served on both the Agriculture & Rural Development and Foreign Affairs committees. Smith – who rose to social media fame after a series of impassioned pro-Remain speeches in the European Parliament – urged the EU earlier this year to “leave a light on” after Brexit so that Scotland “can find our way home”.

Richard Thomson

Gordon

Majority: 819

Leader of the SNP Group at Aberdeenshire Council, Thomson previously worked in the financial sector at Scottish Wid