The Conservatives have chosen Will Gallagher as their Chester parliamentary candidate to fight sitting Labour MP Chris Matheson.

Chester Conservative Association this morning (Saturday, April 29) selected Mr Gallagher, a former King’s School boy, whose family run Gallaghers Mitsubishi dealership at Sandycroft in Deeside.

Chester-born Mr Gallagher was chosen from a shortlist of three following a meeting at the Mercure Hotel in Christleton.

Other candidates were Cheshire West and Chester councillor Pamela Hall and Katherine Fletcher who stood as Tory candidate for Ellesmere Port and Neston in 2015.

Mr Gallagher, 35, was the Tory parliamentary candidate for the Alyn and Deeside constituency in the 2010 General Election having stood there as Welsh Assembly candidate in 2007.

Will Gallagher with Carol Vorderman
Will Gallagher with Carol Vorderman

He worked as a special advisor to justice secretary Chris Grayling between 2012-15.

In his submitted CV to the party, he wrote: "It is crucial that the voters in Chester know the key role they will play in the important national choice between strong and stable leadership under Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn and his coalition of chaos.

“My top priority would be to make clear that whatever Chris Matheson wants to pretend, a vote for him is a vote for Jeremy Corbyn.

“I would also campaign to demonstrate that, as an alternative, the Conservatives have a positive plan for Chester.”

Mr Gallagher is former operations director for the National Citizen Service - a nationwide programme open to all 15-17 year-olds aimed at supporting social mobility and cohesion.

Will Gallagher with George Osborne and Mark Stewart from Airbus during his campaign for the Alyn and Deeside constituency in 2010
Will Gallagher with George Osborne and Mark Stewart from Airbus during his campaign for the Alyn and Deeside constituency in 2010

He also worked as general manager for the family car franchise business between 2004-2011.

Since early 2017 he has been strategic director for East West Rail, a new infrastructure project to link Oxford and Cambridge by train.

Stressing his priorities, Mr Gallagher said Chester has ‘unfulfilled potential’.

His aim would be to protect business and jobs post-Brexit while seeking new opportunities after Britain leaves the EU.

He continued: “Securing the infrastructure we need to succeed - the bus services, trains and roads and the super-fast broadband that will power our growth and give Chester a competitive advantage.

“We need to electrify key rail routes and we need to fix the M56 as well as the Sainsbury’s roundabout!”

Welsh Conservative Assembly leader Nick Bourne AM with candidate for Alyn and Deeside Will Gallagher, meeting Director of Communications Ian Williams, centre, at moneysupermarket.com in Flintshire
Welsh Conservative Assembly leader Nick Bourne AM with candidate for Alyn and Deeside Will Gallagher, meeting Director of Communications Ian Williams, centre, at moneysupermarket.com in Flintshire

Mr Gallagher added: “Throughout the campaign I would challenge Labour’s lies about ‘Tory plans’ to close the Countess and fracking. Make clear that by electing a Conservative MP, Chester has a better chance to get the investment and Government support we need, because I could make our case direct to Conservative ministers.

“Show that I will always stand up for Chester, being willing to make our case to Government where necessary, for example, on school funding.”

Born at the Countess of Chester Hospital, Mr Gallagher went to nursery in Hoole and then school both in Newton and at King’s before Cambridge University where he was chair of the Conservative Association in 2001.

Mr Gallagher, who is not married, lives in London but would relocate and resign from his job if elected. His parents live in Hough Green, Chester.

Mr Gallagher enjoys cooking for family and friends but doesn’t ‘go to the gym often enough to justify it’. He goes to the occasional international rugby match mainly at the behest of his Irish brother-in-law. He also enjoys going to the theatre and local arts.