Mike Wood was selected as the Dudley South Conservative candidate at next year’s General Election at an open caucus of voters earlier this evening. The vacancy came about after the incumbent MP Chris Kelly announced earlier this year that he would not be seeking re-election have decided that it was “increasingly difficult to find the right balance between my work and my personal and family life”.
Huge congratulations to @mikejwood selected tonight as the #Conservative candidate for #Dudley South
— WM Conservatives (@ConservativesWM) November 26, 2014
Councillor Wood (@mikejwood, www.mike4dudleysouth.com) was elected to serve the Pedmore & Stourbridge East ward on Dudley Council in 2014 and is the Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance. A parliamentary assistant and former policy advisor to the Conservatives in the European Parliament, he is the son of a retired policeman and moved to Dudley when he was a toddler.
Natasha Millward (@natashamillward) is the Labour candidate in what is the party’s 74th target seat (3,856, 10% majority). The UKIP candidate, Phil Rowe, who also fought the seat in 2010, may make things interesting for both the Conservatives and Labour in what has been assessed as the 12th most ‘UKIP-friendly’ Conservative seat.
