Olympic rower James Cracknell vows to earn Colchester seat

James Cracknell, the two-time Olympic and World Champion rower, has been chosen as the Conservative candidate for Colchester

Olympic gold-medallist James Cracknell has vowed to earn his seat at the next general election after being chosen as a Conservative candidate.

The former rower is vying to become the MP for Colchester but denied he had been "parachuted in" to fight the seat.

He told BBC Essex he could not "pretend I have any local connections", but added: "Everything I've done has been proved with actions."

Liberal Democrat Martin Goss said the choice "smacked of desperation".

The sitting Colchester MP, Conservative Will Quince, has announced he would stand down at the next election.

Mr Cracknell said he recognised the "three-way fight" in the city and that he had begun the search for a home in Colchester.

"If you've got someone dropping in a couple of days a week and only firing up in the last couple of months before an election, you don't deserve the vote," he said.

"I'm going to be involved and you'll probably be sick of the sight of me."

• LISTEN: James Cracknell speaks to BBC Essex

Martin Goss will fight the seat for the Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrat candidate Mr Goss said the seat should be held by "a local person with local knowledge" and the ability to "understand Colchester and all its unique challenges".

Mr Goss said he had lived in Colchester for 40 years, and had grown up, been educated and worked in the city.

"He [Mr Cracknell] was looking in Henley only a couple of months ago so he's clearly going anywhere to be a career politician - this is not what Colchester needs," he said.

"This is personality politics."

The Colchester seat was held by Liberal Democrat Sir Bob Russell for 18 years until 2015.

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Labour candidate Pam Cox described Mr Cracknell as "an amazing sportsman" and said she believed it would be a "two-horse race" between Labour and the Tories.

"It's all to play for in Colchester," she said.

"I want the place to thrive and I do think people value candidates with local knowledge and passion.

"Colchester is home to the Parachute Regiment but I do think this is taking it to some extreme, to parachute in a candidate with so few local connections."

Pam Cox is the Labour candidate for Colchester

Mr Cracknell added: "The selection process is humbling in many ways, in what you have to go through, as it should be - to be one of the 650 people who has a seat in Westminster.

"In terms of 'parachuted in' I wish that was the case, but that's not going to earn the seat."

He said criticism of his selection was "insulting to the members" who chose him.

"The bottom line is, we've got a year, who knows, to make those local connections and if, in a month's time, six weeks, I don't know the issues, then those accusations fly," he said.

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