By Peter Hoskin
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Another
day, another candidate selected for 2015. The seat in question is St. Ives in
Cornwall, and the newly selected candidate is the local businessman—Cornish
stone mason, in fact—Derek Thomas. Congratulations to him.
Just
like the last candidate to be selected, Rowena Holland in Nottingham
South, Mr Thomas contested the same seat at the last election. And, just
like Dr Holland, he put in an encouraging performance. He achieved a 10.4 per
cent swing against the Liberal Democrat’s Andrew George, who has held the seat
since 1997, to finish only 1,719 votes behind. Mr George isn’t
exactly the most coalitious of MPs, so CCHQ probably won’t fell too much remorse
if he gets deposed in 2015…
Here,
to finish, is what Mr Thomas said in response to his selection this evening:
“I am delighted to have been selected once again to represent a
constituency I care passionately about. I grew up here, I live here and I work
here. It is a great privilege to serve this beautiful part of the United
Kingdom.I will do all I can to build a healthy, prosperous
and caring community in West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. I will work to
ensure that healthcare is delivered as close to home as possible.I will campaign on behalf of our youngsters so they
get the education and opportunities they need to love full and active lives.”