Theresa May’s former chief of staff has been selected to fight Matt Hancock’s seat at the next general election.
Nick Timothy, a key adviser to the former prime minister, was confirmed as the Tory parliamentary candidate for the constituency on Sunday evening.
Mr Hancock, the former health secretary, currently represents the constituency as an independent after having the the Tory whip removed in November when he agreed to appear on ITV reality programme I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!
The move drew the ire of some members of his local Conservative association, with Mr Hancock due to stand down at the next general election.
Mr Timothy is believed to have strong family ties to the constituency, which Mr Hancock won in 2019 with a 23,000 vote majority.
Local Conservative councillor Lance Stanbury welcomed the selection of Mr Timothy, who remains a prominent voice in Westminster circles and in the media.
“Delighted, absolutely delighted that Nick has been selected to fight for West Suffolk,” he told the PA news agency.
“He gave an excellent presentation today and is clearly all over the policy and understands all the issues for West Suffolk and I think will make a great candidate.”
Another local Conservative, who did want to give their name, told PA that the association “do not want a career politician”.
They said that Mr Timothy “has a good focus on the area, a lot of his family live here and he knows the area well”.
Chair of the West Suffolk Conservative Association Rachel Hood said it had been a “rigorous, open and transparent process”.
“We had a very high calibre shortlist of candidates and we are very grateful to everybody who put themselves forward for selection,” she added.
Mr Hancock tweeted: “Many congratulations to Nick Timothy, a fantastic choice as Conservative candidate for West Suffolk.
“Being local MP for West Suffolk has been a huge honour the past 13 years. Best wishes for his campaign – he’ll make a terrific Member of Parliament.”
