West Berkshire councillor battling to become next MP for Oxford West and Abingdon

James Fredrickson congratulated by prime minister after being selected as parliamentary candidate

A WEST Berkshire councillor is bidding to become the next MP for Oxford West and Abingdon after being selected as the Conservative Party’s prospective parliamentary candidate for the constituency.

James Fredrickson, who was elected to both West Berkshire Council and Newbury Town Council in May 2015, was congratulated by Prime Minister Theresa May last week.

Mr Fredrickson is on the district council’s executive committee, having been given the responsibility of economic development and communications.

He lives in Newbury and represents Victoria ward.

The current Oxford West and Abingdon MP is Liberal Democrat Layla Moran, who won the seat from the Conservatives at last year’s snap general election, beating her Tory rival by just 816 votes.

Mr Fredrickson said: “I’m delighted to have been selected.

“I work in Abingdon and have seen first-hand the great work the Vale and [Oxford] county council are doing there, so am really looking forward to working with them.

“While this means I won’t be seeking re-election to West Berkshire Council in May, I am still living in Newbury and working on some fantastic projects that will be announced shortly as part of our economic development plans.

“I’m really excited to see these through to implementation before leaving the council next spring.”

Mr Fredrickson previously worked in communications at Vodafone headquarters in Shaw and now works for broadband provider, Gigaclear.

Last week, Theresa May tweeted:

Other senior figures within the Conservative Party, including Ed Vaizey, Brandon Lewis, Newbury MP Richard Benyon and North West Hampshire MP Kit Malthouse, also tweeted messages of support.