Local Lad Simon Returns to Stand for Folkestone and Hythe

The new Liberal Democrat candidate for the expected forthcoming General Election will be local lad, and former Conservative Special Adviser to a Secretary of State in the coalition government, Simon Bishop.

Before entering a high-profile career which saw him work for Prince Charles, the BBC and The United Nations, Simon went to Saltwood Primary School and The Harvey Grammar in Folkestone. His first full-time job was at Saga and he also worked as a waiter at The Imperial Hotel in Hythe and as a barman at the old Bonkers nightclub in Folkestone.

Bishop, 44, had stints working for the Conservative party at City Hall in London and at senior levels of national government. His latest involvement was working for two-and-a-half years in Westminster for Rt Hon Justine Greening MP as her Special Adviser at the Department for International Development in the Cameron led government.

However, Simon left the Conservatives and joined the Liberal Democrats in July of this year explaining that the Conservative Party under Boris Johnson, a party he had been a member of for 25 years, had "become beholden to its own extremists and wealthy interest groups and a party for the rich and for those on the hard-right of British politics.".

On his selection as Liberal Democrat candidate for Folkestone and Hythe, Simon Bishop said:

"I am absolutely delighted to be the Lib Dem's Parliamentary candidate for Folkestone and Hythe, where I grew up. I love this area and want to help make it an even better place to live.

"I care deeply about our great country and feel it is going in the wrong direction and fast. I am passionate about us remaining in Europe because I think it is by far the best option for securing our country's future. This is also about the kind of country we want to be.

"I want my two daughters to grow up in a kind, compassionate, tolerant, equal, outward-facing Britain, not one defined by the division and hate being sown by the hard left and hard right of today's politics.

"Vote Conservative, get hard Brexit; Vote Labour, get Brexit fudge; Vote Brexit Party, get Farage; vote Green, split the Remain vote. The only option to STOP Brexit is to vote Lib Dem in Folkestone and Hythe."

Simon wrote for the Independent website on why he left the Tories and joined the Lib Dems.

Simon went to university in Edinburgh where he studied Economics and Geography and then was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study International Relations and Journalism in New York at Columbia University; something that, without a scholarship, he stood no chance of achieving.

Simon is currently Deputy Chief Executive of a global charity that focuses on improving the lives of the world's poorest girls. During his 25-year career he has also worked around the world as an aid worker, journalist and in politics.

He loves water sports and can often be spotted paddle boarding or kayaking along The Royal Military Canal in Hythe or along the seafront. Simon is a proud husband and a dad of two small girls.

Follow Simon on Twitter: @SiBishop and on Facebook and Instagram at sibishoplibdem