Who is Labour’s Uxbridge and South Ruislip candidate to replace Boris Johnson? Meet Camden’s Danny Beales

With Boris Johnson stepping down as an MP, a by-election will be held in his constituency, and Labour will have high hopes of overturning the Tories’ majority.

Mr Johnson announced on Friday (June 8) he was stepping down as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip after receiving the Commons’ Privilege Committee’s report into his statements on the Partygate scandal.

At the time of his 2019 General Election landslide win, Mr Johnson increased his constituency majority to more than 7,000 votes, receiving 25,351, against 18,141 for Labour’s Ali Milani. But with the Tories struggling according to opinion polls, the seat is up for grabs.

Labour has already selected as its constituency candidate Danny Beales, who is a Camden councillor and a member of the borough’s cabinet, with a brief covering new homes, jobs and community investment.

He knows the Labour leader well, with his Camden Square ward sitting within Sir Keir Starmer’s Holborn and St Pancras constituency.

Cllr Danny Beales

Cllr Beales was born at Hillingdon Hospital in 1988 and grew up in South Ruislip and Ruislip Manor. He went to Deanesfield and Abbotsfield schools.

On his campaign website, he says: “Raised by a single parent, my life was shaped by early struggle and poverty. It was my first experience of homelessness, that drove me to join the Labour Party when I was a teenager. Losing our home, when I was 15, forced my mother and I to leave the area – but Ruislip is where my roots are and where much of my wider family still lives.

“I believe everyone has a right to a decent home. No one should not be able to afford to eat or heat their home. More and more families are now struggling because of the Conservative government’s economic mismanagement over the last 13 years. Now we need change.”

He adds: “Over almost a decade I’ve put my principles into practice. Through my nine years as a local councillor and cabinet member I’ve been finding solutions to tackle low pay, deliver new council homes and good work.

“Now, as times get even tougher for families, I am determined to make fundamental change possible in Parliament. As a full-time local MP, I would work hard for a new hospital and better public services. Work tirelessly to deliver a stable and growing economy so that families feel hopeful about the future and to ensure we have more police on the street and safer communities.”

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats, who won 3,026 votes in 2019, have selected Blaise Baquiche as their candidate.

He writes on the Hillingdon Liberal Democrats’ website: “I'm a committed environmentalist and will fight hard to reduce pollution levels in Hillingdon. We want to make a difference and run a really positive campaign.”