The Scottish Conservatives have announced candidates for the Aberden South and Aberdeen North seats at the upcoming general election.
Douglas Lumsden, who is currently co-leader of Aberdeen City Council, will defend the Aberdeen South seat.
He will replace Ross Thomson, who announced yesterday he was stepping down.
Mr Lumsden, 48, was first elected as a Scottish Conservative councillor in 2017. He lives in Aberdeen with his wife and children and spent more than 20 years working in the IT industry.
In Aberdeen North, city councillor Ryan Houghton will fight the seat.
Mr Houghton was also elected to Aberdeen City Council in 2017 in the George Street/Harbour ward. He is the council business manager within the Conservative-Labour-Independent ruling administration.
The 28-year-old spent seven years in the RAF and is an Afghanistan veteran. He lives in Aberdeen with his wife.
Speaking today after his selection, Mr Lumsden said: “I am honoured to be selected as the candidate for Aberdeen South but I want to first pay tribute to the hard work and dedication of Ross Thomson over the past two years. He has made a personal decision to step down, but he has always been a great champion for this city.
“In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP have made this election all about independence.
“The Scottish Conservatives will stand up for the vast majority of Aberdonians who voted against separation in 2014.
“We need to stop Nicola Sturgeon, keep Jeremy Corbyn out of Downing Street and get Brexit sorted so that we can all move on and focus on the things that matter.”
Mr Houghton said: “I am very proud to have been selected as the Scottish Conservative and Unionist candidate for Aberdeen North.
“We have an SNP MP here who has not respected the result of the 2014 ‘once in a generation’ independence referendum – nor the UK-wide vote to Leave the EU in 2016.
“Instead, we are stuck with Nicola Sturgeon banging the drum for separation at every opportunity.
“We need a strong Conservative government to stand up to the SNP and say ‘No’ to another referendum.
“We should be focusing on growing our economy and improving public services. That won’t happen if we end up with Jeremy Corbyn in Number 10 propped up by Nicola Sturgeon.”
