Oxford West and Abingdon Conservatives have selected an award-winning dental surgeon as their parliamentary candidate.

During the Covid pandemic Dr Vinay Raniga – who lives, works and studied in Oxford – was redeployed from the oral and maxillofacial surgery department at Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, to the frontline ICU.

For his commitment to public service, he was awarded the Political Leadership Scholarship at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, where he read the Master of Public Policy with distinction.

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Currently, he serves the people of Oxford West and Abingdon as an NHS dental surgeon while simultaneously working on the future of health policy in the UK.

Speaking after his selection, Dr Raniga said: “I’m honoured and delighted that local residents have put their trust in me. I look forward to meeting many more in the coming weeks and months.

“I want to be an MP who will deliver results, as many who I have spoken to feel that locally, this has been lacking for the past six years.

“Just as I fought for my patients during the pandemic, I will be fighting for the residents of Oxford West & Abingdon.”

Lib Dem MP Layla Moran currently holds the Oxford West and Abingdon seat. Her press office has been contacted to see if she will be declaring for next year.

Green Party candidate is Cheryl Briggs, Reform UK is James Gunn and Labour are still undeclared.  

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1