Alex Deane was chief of staff to David Cameron before being executive director of pro-Brexit campaign group, Grassroots Out reports David Floyd

Conservatives activists in Finchley and Golders Green, picture with their new parliamentary candidate, Alex Deane — Alex Deane with Finchley and Golders Green Conservative members – (Credit – Finchley and Golders Green Conservatives)

Finchley and Golders Green Conservatives have selected their candidate to fight the seat at the next general election.

Alex Deane was selected by local members last night, following sitting MP Mike Freer’s decision to step down.

Deane was victorious in a three-way contest. The other shortlisted candidates were Hertfordshire councillor Caroline Clapper and Hendon ward councillor Alex Prager.

Deane is an author and political commentator, who works as Head of Public Affairs for FTI Consulting. His political experience includes a period as chief of staff for David Cameron when the former prime minister was shadow education secretary in 2005 and a period as executive director of the pro-Brexit campaign group, Grassroots Out.

In a statement announcing the selection, Finchley and Golders Green Conservatives said: “This decision comes after careful consideration and reflects our confidence in Alex’s abilities to serve our constituency.

“Alex Deane brings a wealth of experience to this role. His commitment to representing the interests of all residents, coupled with his passion for positive change, makes him an excellent choice to lead Finchley and Golders Green into the future.”

Current MP Mike Freer said: “I am thrilled to see Alex Deane selected as the Conservative candidate for Finchley and Golders Green. His dedication to public service and his commitment to our community make him the ideal candidate to continue the work we’ve started. I have every confidence that Alex will be an outstanding representative for our constituency, and I look forward to supporting him in the upcoming General Election.”

Deane will be defending a majority of 6,562 won by Freer at the 2019 general election. However that result came at a time when the Labour Party had lost the support of large numbers of Jewish voters due to its failure to tackle antisemitism within its ranks – and was significantly affected by the strong performance of former Labour MP Luciana Berger, running for the Liberal Democrats, who came second.

Given the wider political picture, it is likely that Freer would have had a tough task holding the seat against Labour’s Sarah Sackman and it is seems likely that Deane task as a new candidate will be even harder.

The other candidates announced so far for the seat are Steve Parsons for the Greens, Sarah Hoyle for the Liberal Democrats and Timothy McGeeever for Reform UK.

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