Dan Watkins, who lost out to Sadiq Khan in Tooting at the General Election, is set to stand for the seat again in June after running unopposed.
The Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman for Tooting has been campaigning since losing to the now mayor of London, and was named early on as a contender when the by-election was set to be called.
Great to address @TootingTories tonight supporting my friend, the excellent @DanWatkins as next Tory MP for Tooting! pic.twitter.com/EpNCDWqt8R
— Amandeep SinghBhogal (@AmandeepBhogal) May 12, 2016
Mr Watkins will be "ratified" in a few days by the Conservative Party, his nomination secure by the absence of any competition.
May 9: Updated: Sadiq Khan to resign tonight as Tooting by-election contest hots up
May 11: Confirmed: Tooting by-election will be held on June 16 following Sadiq Khan's resignation
In 2015, Mr Watkins secured 41.9 per cent of the vote, coming about 3,000 short of Mr Khan, with a 3.4 per cent swing.
The Labour party will select its candidate from a shortlist on Saturday, May 14.
In a piece for Conservative Home, Matthew Maxwell Scott, who lost to Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake in Carshalton and Wallington last year, hailed Mr Watkins as the right candidate.
He wrote: "The absence of Khan is a boost, but Labour won the Merton and Wandsworth Greater London Assembly seat last week. Detailed breakdown of the voting figures will be available soon, and will paint an exact picture of what happened on May 5, although the choice there was essentially between Khan and Zac Goldsmith.
"On June 16, it will be between the rival visions for Britain of David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn as well as between two local candidates.
"The candidate the Conservatives have chosen is the right one. Dan Watkins more than deserved the chance to fight the seat again after an excellent showing in 2015 (one for the geeks: he won more votes against an incumbent MP than any other candidate in the UK)."
The by-election will be held on June 16, with the count the same night.
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