A FORMER North-East councillor has been selected to replace ex-Prime Minister Edward Heath as a Conservative General Election candidate.
Derek Conway, 47, was chosen as prospective parliamentary candidate for the London borough of Old Bexley and Sidcup, beating off 300 hopefuls.
When Mr Conway was elected to Gateshead Borough Council in 1974, he was barely 21-years-old and the youngest councillor in the country. He left the North-East in 1983 when he was elected Tory MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, a seat he held for 14 years.
Sir Edward, 84, Prime Minist-er from 1970 to 1974, announced his retirement in October.
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