An energy consultant has been selected as Kingston Labour party's parliamentary candidate for the 2015 General Election.

Lee Godfrey was chosen to challenge energy secretary Edward Davey for the Kingston and Surbiton seat at a party meeting last night.

Today, the 44-year-old from Weybridge told the Surrey Comet he believed constituents "deserved an MP with a backbone".

He said: "As a person who has previously voted for the Liberal Democrats, I feel betrayed by them and I know other residents in Kingston feel the same.

"I'm making an appeal to Liberal Democrat voters and social democrats to switch to Labour."

 

Mr Godfrey, who has worked in the energy sector for 17 years, said: "I think Ed Davey's responses to the Energy Bill crisis of wearing a jumper or switching providers shows he doesn't understand the energy market, and I think that makes him weak against the Big Six.

"I wouldn't be standing if I didn't think we could win.

"There's a large number of Labour voters in Kingston who have previously voted Lib Dem for tactical reasons and I know many of them feel they have been failed.

"I'm looking forward to the challenge."

When he fought for Chertsey in the Surrey County Council elections in 2013 he was described as the 'one nation' candidate, finishing third behind a UKIP candidate and the winning Conservative and polling 27 percent of the votes.

He also spoke at the Labour Party conference in 2012 speaking about food banks and representing the Runnymede and Weybridge wing of the party.

According to the party's biography, he grew up in Hertfordshire and attended comprehensive Parmiter's School in Garston, near Watford.

He also served in the Royal Navy upon leaving school, before studying operational research at Lancaster University.

The site said he is now the director of a consultantcy business to the energy business, as well as a director of a company designing and supplying packaging to the cosmetic industry.

The Conservatives have yet to announce their candidate.

Last time around: Kingston and Surbiton 2010

Edward Davey, Liberal Democrat  28,428 49.8%
Helen Whately, Conservative  20,868 36.5%
Max Freedman, Labour  5,337 9.3%
John Perrilli, UK Independence Party  1,450 2.5%
Chris Walker, Green Party  555 1.0%
Monkey the Drummer, Monster Raving Loony Party  247 0.4%
Anthony May, Christian People's Alliance  226 0.4%