The Conservative Party has selected a candidate to contest the North Shropshire seat at the next General Election.

Simon Baynes MP has been selected as the Conservative candidate for North Shropshire, having been chosen at a meeting on Saturday, July 22.

Mr Baynes is currently the MP for Clwyd South, but with the recent boundary changes that constituency will cease to exist at the next General Election, which is due before January 2025.  

As a result, Mr Baynes was selected as the candidate for North Shropshire, his neighbouring constituency.

He stated via social media: “Very honoured to be selected as the Conservatives’ Parliamentary Candidate for North Shropshire given that, under the boundary changes, my Clwyd South constituency (which borders North Shropshire) will cease to exist at the next general election.”

Mr Baynes, who grew up around Lake Vyrnwy, Powys, worked in finance and ran a Shrewsbury bookshop before he was first elected to parliament in the 2019 General Election.

He served as a minister for justice and illegal migration last year and is currently a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

The North Shropshire seat he will be contesting has been held by Liberal Democrat Helen Morgan since the resignation of Owen Paterson in 2021.