Matt beat Natalie Elphicke in the final round by 88 votes to 81.
He is the second member of George Osborne's team to be selected. Claire Perry was recently selected for Devizes.
When I included Matt in my list of twenty candidates that deserve to be selected I wrote:
"George Osborne will have mixed feelings about his Chief of Staff's hunt for a seat but any Conservative Association that adopts Matt will have chosen a person sure to rise quickly through the ministerial ranks. Born and brought up in the North West he worked for the family business in Cheshire before joining the Bank of England."
My warm congratulations to him and commiserations to Natalie Elphicke for her strong finish. Sam Gyimah was third.
Rupert Harrison, George Osborne's Chief Economic Adviser (pictured, right), is expected to replace Hancock as the Shadow Chancellor's Chief of Staff.
Tim Montgomerie
