Mary Macleod Is Conservative Candidate For Brentford & Isleworth

Decisive victory for former MP in Selection meeting

The Conservative candidate for the forthcoming General Election for the Brentford & Isleworth constituency is former MP Mary Macleod.

In a decisive victory over her main rival, James Cracknell, Mary won more than half the votes in the first ballot and was declared winner shortly before 10pm.

Mary told chiswickw4.com shortly after the announcement that she was "absolutely thrilled" and determined to win the seat back for the Conservatives. She believes the main focus of the campaign will be on Brexit and its impact on the UK but also pledged to campaign on local issues such as the airport, the NHS, and support for small businesses.

Mary Macleod

There were three nominees put forward for selection, Mary and Olympic rowing gold medallist James Cracknell, (both of whom live in Chiswick) as well as Christopher Salmon, a former British Army officer who was added to the list on Tuesday.

The three nominees were decided jointly by Conservative Campaign Headquarters and the local party chairman. A long list went to GCHQ at the weekend and a short list of three candidates was then agreed.

Mary will be be aiming to regain the seat which is held by a slim majority of just 465 votes, by Labour's Ruth Cadbury. Brentford & Isleworth is the ninth most marginal seat in the UK.

The Chairman of the Hounslow, Brentford & Isleworth Conservative Association Julian Tanner said: “Our candidate will be looking to overturn the ultra slim majority of 465 votes and make this constituency Conservative again.”

One local party member told Chiswickw4.com, "Mary is well known as a hard worker in Chiswick, but James has the celebrity factor which might sway some people."

A ballot was held of all fully paid up members of the Association of more than three months standing after the prospective candidates had had a chance to speak to the audience. Mary won over half the votes on the first ballot.

Ruth Cadbury has pledged to defend the seat for Labour. You can read our previous story

Ruth Cadbury

The Liberal Democrats have announced that their candidate is Joe Bourke, who also ran in the 2015 election. The Green Party has yet to announce its candidate. Daniel Goldsmith, who ran last time, could possibly decide to put his name on the ticket again.

April 27, 2017