Along with around 300 others I attended a meeting at Oxted School on Saturday to select a successor to Peter Ainsworth as the Conservative candidate for East Surrey (and therefore hopefully our next MP).
While the circumstances were unfortunate - having six candidates thrust upon us under bi-election rules - the field was strong enough to deliver two candidates who would have been an excellent future MP, in my opinion the best one won. So I, like the vast majority of others present, was very happy the result.
Sam Gyimah came across to me as the ideal candidate, bright, a good communicator, likeable, a good track record outside of politics and an original thinker. From what I have seen so far, I hope and expect him to go far. I look forward to working with him.
For more details about Sam see his website.
