Saturday saw the selection of Conservative candidates for the two Teesside seats of Redcar and Middlesbrough.
Steve Mastin was selected for Redcar. He is Head of History at Sawston Village College, a secondary school in Cambridgeshire, and recently had a letter published in the Daily Telegraph emphasising the importance of his subject. The sitting Labour MP Vera Baird (who took over from Mo Mowlam) has a majority of 12,116 over the Lib Dems, with the Conservatives less than 1,000 votes behind them, with 17.9% of the vote.
He said on his selection:
"It is a huge privilege to be selected to fight for the people of Redcar at the General Election. I listen to people's concerns every day and will be working to make sure they are heard in Parliament."
Meanwhile, Middlesbrough will be contested by John Warren Walsh (apologies!), who runs a London-based film and TV production company. The electoral arithmetic there is similar to that of Redcar: Middlesbrough's Labour MP Sir Stuart Bell has a notional majority of 12,476 over the Lib Dems, with the third-placed Conservatives starting from a base of 16.5% of the vote.
He said on his selection:
"I am delighted to have been selected to fight for the people of Middlesbrough constituency in the forth coming General Election. I am looking forward to working with residents, especially those who feel let down and that their voice is not being heard."
Jonathan Isaby