Election rematch in Hendon as Tories reselect Ameet Jogia

The former adviser to Rishi Sunak lost by just 15 votes in 2024 reports David Floyd

Ameet Jogia the Conservative parliamentary candidate for the Hendon constituency — Ameet Jogia is once again the Conservative candidate for Hendon

David Pinto-Duschinsky is facing a tough bid for re-election as MP for Hendon after the Conservatives selected his 2024 opponent to run again.

Harrow councillor Ameet Jogia defied the deep unpopularity of his party to come within just 15 votes of holding the seat, previously held by Matthew Offord, at the last election. The result gave Pinto-Duschinsky the smallest winning margin of any MP elected in 2024.

Now Jogia has been selected by activists to have another go and his confidence will be boosted by the results of this year’s local election, where the Conservatives took 37.9% of vote in the seven Barnet Council wards in the Hendon constituency compared to Labour’s 23.5%.

Speaking after his reselection, Jogia said: “I am honoured to be reselected to represent the place where I was born. In 2024, we came within 15 votes of victory. I am proud of the campaign we ran and I am determined to finish the job we started.

“Residents deserve a strong voice on the issues affecting their daily lives. I will challenge overdevelopment that puts pressure on local infrastructure, fight for a better future for Edgware Broadwalk, and press for lifts at Mill Hill Broadway station, which are long overdue.

The Conservatives are also “advertising for applicants” for their candidates in Finchley and Golders Green and Chipping Barnet in November. While former Chipping Barnet MP Theresa Villiers has ruled herself out of a rematch with Dan Tomlinson, Barnet Post understands that Mike Freer is keen on a comeback in Finchley and Golders Green.

However, party leader Kemi Badenoch told the BBC earlier this year that she leads “a brand new party full of new people”, when explaining the rejection of former cabinet minister Grant Shapps as a potential candidate, so it is unclear whether she would be keen to give local members the chance to reselect Freer to take on Sarah Sackman.

When asked today, Conservative Campaign Headquarters was unable to confirm whether Freer would be eligible for selection. A spokesperson told the Post: “We do not comment on individual applications to the candidates list.”

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