A former chief of staff for Theresa May who has been selected to fight for Matt Hancock's West Suffolk parliamentary seat has said he hopes voters can "draw a line" under the past and back him at the next general election.
Nick Timothy, a key adviser to the former Prime Minister, was confirmed as the Tory parliamentary candidate for the constituency on Sunday evening.
The Daily Telegraph columnist, who has family ties to the district with his parents living in Hundon and family in Newmarket, said he plans to move to Suffolk with his wife in the future.
He said of his appointment as candidate: "I am really excited - it is place I have known my whole life and care a lot about.
"I don't want to come in and have a checklist of things and just propose that I know what people want.
"I am obviously in listening mode at this stage because I think it is right that I introduce myself to the public here and have conversations across the constituency and listen."
Mr Timothy was born in Birmingham and previously failed in a bid to be selected as the Conservative candidate for the Meriden constituency in Solihull.
Mr Hancock, the former Health Secretary, currently represents the constituency as an independent after having the the Tory whip removed last November when he agreed to appear on ITV reality programme I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
Mr Timothy said: "All I can really do is do the best for the people of West Suffolk as the Conservative candidate and hopefully this is an opportunity for people to draw a line under the events."
In 2019 then-Conservative Mr Hancock won the West Suffolk seat by a majority of more than 23,000 votes.
Mr Timothy said he is looking forward to the campaign for the next general election, and wants to work hard to gain voters' trust.
"I don't really believe in safe seats. There are plenty of constituencies that have been deemed to be safe over the years where maybe an MP took constituents for granted and found out it wasn't so safe after all," he said.
"I am confident that the party can turn things around and the next election is all to play for still. I don't take any voter for granted I am going to work hard, make myself very visible and listen to the people."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here