Conservative candidates flee south as Tories face nightmare losses in north of England

Former Conservative MPs in the north of England are migrating south as the Tory “red wall” faces demolition.

Those fleeing to safer seats in the south or midlands include Kieran Mullan, elected as MP for Crewe and Nantwich in Cheshire in 2019. Mr Mullen is now standing in Bexhill and Battle, in East Sussex, where Tories are defending a majority of 26,059.

Chris Clarkson became Conservative MP for Heywood & Middleton in Greater Manchester at the last election but is now standing in Shakespeare’s birthplace of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, where the party will defend a majority of 19,972.

Neil Hudson has been MP for Penrith and the Border in Cumbria since 2019 and will now stand in Epping Forest, Essex, where the Conservative majority is 22,173. His old constituency has been abolished due to a review of boundaries, forcing him to find a new seat.

Sports Minister Stuart Andrew was MP for Pudsey in West Yorkshire since 2010, another constituency that has been scrapped, but will now stand in Daventry in Northamptonshire, defending a majority of 26,080.

The most high profile example is Tory chair Richard Holden, the former MP for North Durham, who was named candidate for Basildon and Billericay in Essex after the local party was handed a shortlist with just one name on it by Conservative headquarters.

It sparked a huge row with local Tory councillor Andrew Baggott saying he was “completely and utterly gobsmacked”.

Mr Holden entered the House of Commons in 2019 as MP for North West Durham, a seat which had returned a Labour MP at every election since it was created in 1950. This constituency has also been abolished due to a review of boundaries.

The red wall was the name given to former Labour strongholds in the north of England that voted Conservative in 2019, but polls suggest Tories will struggle to retain many of these constituencies on July 4.

North West Durham was one of ten seats in the north east region won by the Tories at the last election, up from three in 2017. But analysis by YouGov suggests it is possible they could be victorious in only one north east constituency, North Northumberland, this time around.

However a Tory candidate who is defending their seat in the north east said: “For the very first time people are genuinely asking themselves whether Keir Starmer is the solution to their problems and that is making them pause.”

Nearly 80 Conservatives nationwide who were MPs before the election have announced they are standing down. It means those seeking new constituencies have plenty of options.