Ahead of the 2024 General Election, a Ryedale-based local representative has been successful in his bid to become the Chair of the Conservative Party in Yorkshire and the Humber, one of the nine regions of England.

George Jabbour moved to Helmsley two years ago to stand as a local Councillor. He received the second largest vote share -as a percentage of registered voters- amongst the 90 North Yorkshire Conservative candidates. The turnout at his election was 47.9%, the highest in the county in May 2022. Since then, his public attendance record with North Yorkshire Council has been 100%.

Before settling down in God’s Own County, the former investment banker, who had been named as one of the rising stars in his profession in the country, had fought a number of high-profile, albeit unwinnable, elections around the UK for the Conservative Party, which he joined a decade ago.

Cllr Jabbour said: “I am absolutely pleased to have been successfully nominated and appointed to this vital role at such a critical time in the election cycle.

“No one is under any illusion of the scale of the task ahead, not only nationally, but more crucially here, in our beautiful part of the world, given the number of marginal seats in Yorkshire and the Humber.

“I have already got stuck in and started meeting the many Conservative Associations spread over our vast area. I am very much looking forward to working with my colleagues at all levels to provide the support needed for our hard-working and committed Party members and activists across more than 50 constituencies in the region.”