Wells Conservatives have selected James Heappey as their Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the 2015 General Election.
James, who became a father in June last year, knows the area well as his family home has been in North Somerset since 1993. For the last nine years, he has served as an officer in the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire regiment (The Rifles), seeing action in Afghanistan, Northern Ireland and Iraq.
In 2011 he was posted to the Ministry of Defence in London, where he worked as Executive Officer on the General Staff and promoted to Major in 2012. Since taking recent retirement, he now works as a Parliamentary Assistant to Dr Liam Fox MP.
With a young family, James understands the pressures that people on middle incomes with children and mortgages face. He believes that we owe it to our children to stay the course on debt reduction, and that opportunity begins with a good, state-funded education system that recognises that not everyone is suited to university. A keen sportsman - James enjoys rugby, rowing, swimming and skiing - he sees himself as a traditional Conservative who passionately supports countryside and traditional rural pursuits.