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Spelthorne voters choose their next Spelthorne candidate for parliament

Posted by Mark Goode on Jan 25, 10 04:02 PM in Local Authority

Spelthorne voters turned out in full to vote for 'the black Boris Johnson' at a meeting designed to choose the next Conservative candidate for the borough.

Four hundred and nine people packed into Kempton Park Racecourse to listen to six hopefuls give a 30 minute presentation each, and although local candidate Philippa Broom was tipped to win, the accolade went to Eton and Cambridge University educated Kwasi Kwarteng.

Mr Kwarteng was born in 1975 to parents of African origin, and beat other candidates Philippa Broom, Katy Bourne, Michael McManus, Lynne Hack, and Therese Coffey after three hours of battling question and answers.

During the last ballot he attained 222 votes while 179 voted for Philippa Broom and eight abstained.

Upon winning, Mr Kwarteng, 34, said: "Words can't describe how I feel. I feel honoured, happy, stung. It is an extraordinary feeling."

When asked if he was expecting it, he said: "No not really. There was a very strong local candidate, and I knew I was coming on at the end, so I knew I would have to perform very well to engage people, and it seemed to work."

Throughout his presentation Mr Kwarteng made jokes about his size, stature and background, which captured the audience's attention and made them laugh.

He said: "People had been sitting down for three hours, so you need a light touch if you are going to engage people at the end of a long evening."

Talking about what he will do first, he said: "First I am going to write to all the local residents and members of the party, as they are the ones who endorsed my candidature. Then I am going to talk to people and learn more about the local issues."

He described himself as the 'black equivalent of Boris Johnson,' who he is good friends with, but also describes himself as a fiscal Conservative who believes people shouldn't spend more than they earn.

Although Mr Kwarteng is not from the area, he likened being in that position to a man on death row looking for a lawyer.

He said: "If you were in a situation where you where put on death row and you needed a lawyer, you would not care where he came from, you would just want to have the best.

"There might be an ethnic issue and there might be people who think it might be bad to have a black MP.

"But I will give everything, give my best years, raise a family here, and live in the community as a champion of Spelthorne."

Mr Kwarteng said he will move to the borough quite soon, adding that he was currently talking to a few local estate agents, and that he hopes to raise a family.

He said he will publish his expenses online, and hopes to be a 'visible' MP by holding surgeries and talking with constituents.

Val Lewis, from Shepperton, said: "I think it is wonderful Kwasi has been elected and I think he is going to be brilliant. Him and Boris working together will be fun for Spelthorne."

Sue Pett, from Laleham, said: "It is exciting because I really think he will change the outlook."

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