Freddie Downing was selected in June as the Conservative candidate for City & East at the next London Assembly elections. These are scheduled for 2 May 2024, the same day as the London Mayoral elections.
Freddie currently works in Parliament. Before that, he was an accountant and tax advisor at Deloitte. He says
"I'm Freddie Downing and I'm your Conservative London Assembly Candidate for City and East.
"I have a confession - I wasn't born in London. I was born in Yorkshire. That's where my parents taught me the most important life lesson: to be independent; to earn what you have; and with hard work and determination, you can achieve almost anything.
"I've tried to follow their example. I went to my local comprehensive school where I worked hard and achieved top grades. After three years' studying history at Cambridge University, I completed a masters degree at Oxford, before joining Deloitte in the City of London, where I qualified as a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor. Since early 2022, I've been working in Westminster, leading Lucy Frazer's Parliamentary team.
"Although I wasn't born in London, I always wanted to live here: the opportunities, the diversity, and the sense of life.
"Since 2016, City and East has been my home. I've lived in Stratford for seven years and I worked in the City of London for five years. The reason I'm standing as the candidate here is really simple: I care about my community and I don't like what's happened to it under Sadiq Khan.
"The Conservative Government has given us more police officers than ever before, but Sadiq Khan still can't keep our neighbourhoods safe.
"The Mayor's had £9 billion of taxpayer's cash from the Conservative Government for affordable housing, but we still don't have enough homes.
"The Conservative Government has bailed out TfL, but Sadiq Khan still hasn't stopped the strikes.
"Sadiq Khan's had his chance and he's failed. It's time for a change in London.
"Between now and election day, I'll be working hard with the City and East team, as well as Conservatives across London and beyond, to show residents how Labour has neglected London for decades and we'll be putting forward a positive vision for the city we know London can be.
"City and East can be the difference that gets the Conservative Mayoral Candidate over the line and beats Sadiq Khan next year. Let's make it happen!"