Conservatives select parliamentary candidate for Scarborough and Whitby as current MP set to step down at next election

At a meeting of Scarborough and Whitby Conservative Association on Friday evening, July 28, Roberto Weeden-Sanz was selected as the party’s next parliamentary candidate for the constituency.

Mr Weeden-Sanz, a Conservative councillor in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, is hoping to succeed Sir Robert Goodwill as the MP for Scarborough and Whitby.

Earlier this year Sir Robert, who has been the MP for Scarborough and Whitby since 2005, announced that he would be standing down from parliament at the next election.

Mr Weeden-Sanz said he was “delighted to have been selected by the membership of Scarborough and Whitby” and would be “a champion” for fishing and farming communities “to make sure the Government is on their side”.

The retail banker and former special constable, who described himself as coming from a farming family that has lived in Yorkshire for three generations, said he was “looking forward to being a visible voice for Whitby to make sure we secure more funding to benefit the town and ensure it always gets its fair share of investment”.

He added: “I will work with colleagues on North Yorkshire Council to continue to call for compensation for our fishermen who are suffering after the crustacean die-off.”

Although the exact date of the next general election has not been officially decided, it will likely take place next year and Mr Weeden-Sanz will be competing in the election with Alison Hume who was selected as the Labour Party’s candidate earlier this year.

Both politicians have previously contested elections in Yorkshire, with Mr Weeden-Sanz standing in the 2019 election in the Doncaster Central constituency whilst Ms Hume was a candidate in the 2021 election for the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, with both coming second in respective elections.

At the 2019 election, the Conservatives finished with a majority of around 10,000 votes in Scarborough and Whitby, with Labour coming second at the time.

Scarborough and Whitby has been described as a “crucial constituency” for the Tories at the next election.