City of Liverpool Conservatives - Candidates - General Election Candidates

The City of Liverpool Conservatives have recently selected candidates to stand at the general election, which must be called before June 2010.

The general election team was announced on 20^th January following a Special General Meeting of the City of Liverpool Conservatives on the 19^th January. The Candidates were introduced to the Press by Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Minister for Merseyside Chris Grayling MP, who visited the City for the selection meeting.

Chris said “The fact that we are the first Party to select all our candidates on Merseyside is a clear indication of our commitment to bring change to this area. This gives us a great opportunity to re-establish the Conservative Party as an effective political force for good locally.”

He added “It is also a great advantage to have a team of local candidates who have experience of campaigning in Merseyside on local and national issues.”

Richard Downey was brought up in Cressington and was the Conservative Candidate for Woolton Ward at the Local Elections in 2008. At those elections he increased the Conservative vote in Woolton by 69% and slashed the Lib Dems majority in the Ward to around 500.

Richard said “I’m delighted to be given a chance to represent the Conservative Party in Garston and Halewood. I’m looking forward to delivering David Cameron’s message and vision for Britain in the campaign.

Kegang Wu, aged 48, was born in Guangdong, China, the son of a local newspaper editor and accountant. He left mainland China in 1991 and came to King's College London with an ORS Scholarship, where he completed his Ph.D. He moved to Liverpool in 1994 and in 2001 he became a British citizen. Currently he is running ChinaDirect UK Ltd, based in Liverpool Riverside and is also the Chief China Adviser for British Chambers of Commerce.

Kegang said: “I am delighted to be standing as a parliamentary candidate in the next General Election. I am particularly thrilled to be standing in Liverpool’s Riverside constituency because I have taught and worked in the constituency for the last 15 years. I can't wait to get started listening and talking to all people in Riverside about their concerns.

In Liverpool Walton, the candidate will be Adam Marsden, who has been brought up in Liverpool and works for Tower Enterprise Funding in Liverpool City Centre. Adam was the Conservative Candidate for Allerton and Hunts Cross Ward at the Local Elections in 2008, where he overtook the Labour Party Candidate to take second place.

Adam said “I am delighted and very privileged to be given this opportunity to represent the Conservatives in the City. I love my home city of Liverpool and I have lived and worked here all my life.”

In Liverpool Wavertree, Andrew Garnett was selected to fight the Constituency for the Conservatives. Andrew was brought up in Childwall and is looking forward to campaigning in what will be a crucial seat for both Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Andrew said “I am excited and honoured to have been selected to fight the seat I was born in. I am looking forward to a good clean fight, and to advancing the causes of the Conservatives in Liverpool.”

In Liverpool West Derby, the Conservatives selected Cllr Pamela Hall from Chester. Pamela has been successful in defeating two longstanding Liberal Democrat Councillors in Chester and is looking forward to bringing her successful campaigning experiences to Liverpool.

Pamela said “I am honoured to have been selected by the Conservatives to fight the seat of West Derby. Liverpool is a fantastic City and I look forward to getting to know the communities in West Derby and helping to support the change they and the City need.”

In Bootle, the Conservatives have chosen Sohail Qureshi, who has been working in the City for the last three years for his Property Company.

Sohail said “I am delighted to be given this opportunity to work on behalf of Conservative Party in this Constituency and show the people of Bootle that there is a better alternative to the Labour Government in Britain.”

In Knowsley, local Candidate David Dunne, who lives in Tarbock Green, was chosen to fight the seat. David, who went to school at St Edwards in Liverpool, works as a Barrister in the City in Harrington Street.

David said “As a resident of Knowsley I am delighted to represent the Conservative Party in my local Constituency and look forward to working with the local community to ensure a brighter future for Knowsley.

The City of Liverpool Conservatives have also recently selected their candidates for the Liverpool City Council elections, which will be held on May 6^th 2010.

All 30 City Council Wards will be contested and many of the candidates have been re-selected following the relative success of 2008 where the Conservative Party increased it’s share of the vote in the city by nearly 40%.

Chairman of the City of Liverpool Conservatives, Tony Caldeira, was pleased with the result of the selection, saying, “It’s great to see the next generation of council candidates coming through. The Conservative Party in Liverpool is both working hard for the present and building for the future.”

“The team will be hoping to build on their improved results of 2008, but it is unacceptable that the Party is not represented on Liverpool City Council. This has to change.”

“The candidates are looking forward to the campaign ahead and are hoping for another increase in the Conservative vote in Liverpool in 2010.”