Royal Borough councillor applies to run for Sir Malcolm Rifkind's Kensington seat

Royal Borough councillor Simon Dudley has announced he has applied to become the Conservative candidate to run for the Kensington constituency in the 2015 General Election.

The candidacy is up for grabs after current Kensington MP Sir Malcolm Rifkind announced he was standing down at the next election after he was implicated in a cash-for-access scandal.

Cllr Dudley, the Royal Borough's deputy leader, announced on Twitter today he has put his name forward to stand for the Conservative seat.

He added he was born in West London and lived in the Kensington borough for 10 years.

Former Olympic rower James Cracknell has also been touted as a possible candidate for the seat, while ex-England captain Sol Campbell has ruled himself out of the running.

This is not the first time Cllr Dudley (Con, Riverside) has put his name forward to become a Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate.

Last year, he lost out to Boris Johnson in the race for the the Uxbridge and South Ruislip candidacy.

Born in west London, I lived in #Kensington @RBKC for over ten years. I have today applied to be the @Conservatives PPC for the constituency

— Cllr Simon Dudley (@LittleFishery) March 4, 2015