James Grundy

Born and raised in Leigh, James Grundy made history in 2019 when he became the town’s first Conservative MP since the constituency’s creation in 1885. The seat had initially been held by Liberal MPs but had been represented by the Labour Party since 1922. Grundy overturned Labour MP 12 per cent swing. Speaking after his election, he said Platt would have won “ninety-nine times out of a hundred” and that “anger over Brexit and anger over Jeremy Corbyn were to blame for her defeat.” Grundy has been a councillor for Lowton East ward on Wigan Council since 2008 and will step down at the 2020 local elections. In February of 2020, he apologised for a video that showed him exposing his genitals at a private event in a pub in 2007. Later that year, he launched a highly successful local initiative “Shop Safe, Shop Local” campaign supporting Leigh’s town centres. He has made local businesses a priority during the pandemic. Grundy also put in two bids for the government’s Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund.