Former council leader selected as Conservative candidate for next General Election

Former Windsor and Maidenhead council leader Andrew Johnson has been selected as a Conservative candidate for the next General Election.

Mr Johnson, whose party lost control of the Royal Borough in the May local elections, will represent the Tories in the contest for the new Whitehaven and Workington constituency in Cumbria.

The Whitehaven and Workington Conservative Association announced his selection on Sunday.

The former Hurley and the Walthams councillor said: “I am a proud West Cumbrian and it was a real privilege to grow up here.

"But I know only too well that the area desperately needs continued investment and promotion to build upon the great work started by Trudy Harrison MP, Mark Jenkinson MP, and the local Conservatives.

“This is exactly why I am 100 per cent supportive of the new coal mine for Whitehaven, and in making sure that West Cumbria remains at the forefront of UK excellence in the nuclear industry.”

Mr Johnson served as leader of the Royal Borough from 2019 to 2023 but his tenure ended in May after his party lost political control of the local authority for the first time in 16 years.

He blamed ‘national headwinds’ for the Conservative’s defeat in Windsor and Maidenhead but said his party had ‘achieved a great deal’ in stabilising the council’s finances during his time as leader.

Andy Pratt, chairman of the Whitehaven and Workington Conservative Association, said: “Andrew has been selected by the membership from a strong field of candidates.

"This will not be an easy campaign ahead of us, with many challenges locally and nationally to address, but I am certain we can build on the success of our sitting MPs Trudy Harrison and Mark Jenkinson and continue to make our area a great place for education, employment, leisure and to live.”