Conservatives choose Hague’s successor

Mr Sunak, will be the Tory candidate in Richmond, next May. There had been around 90 applications for the chance to stand for the Conservatives in the North Yorkshire constituency.

Leader of the House of Commons Mr Hague has represented Richmond since 1989 and held it at the last general election in 2010 with a majority of 23,336.

He announced his decision to stand down from Parliament at the time of July’s reshuffle, which also saw him quit his role in the cabinet as Foreign Secretary.

Mr Sunak, who was born and brought up in Hampshire, has led a successful life in business co-founding a £1 billion global investment firm and working as analyst at Goldman Sachs.

He also set up and runs a unit at the right leaning Policy Exchange think tank.

The unit Mr Sunak created is researching the attitudes of ethnic minority voters.

On his website it says Mr Sunak volunteered for work experience at the Conservative Party’s central office when he was 19-years-old. He is also a governor at the East London Science School, a new free school based in Tower Hamlets.

He is a former head boy at Winchester College and graduated from Oxford University with a first class degree in philosophy, politics and economics.

Mr Sunak was selected by local Conservative Party members from a final shortlist after interviews. Other candidates had included Robert Light, the Conservative group leader in Kirklees and former council leader.

Chris Brannigan, a former Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, had also applied for the keenly contested seat as had former Richmond Association chairwoman Wendy Morton, who stepped down to apply for the seat.