AN entrepreneur who founded a TV streaming start-up business has been chosen as the Conservative candidate for the newly-formed Bristol North East constituency.
The new seat has been created as part of boundary changes, and includes the Staple Hill & Mangotsfield ward.
Tory candidate Rose Hulse was born in America, where she started her political career working on presidential campaigns and for former Los Angeles mayor, Richard Riordan.
After moving to the UK she founded a tech startup business, ScreenHits TV, which allows users to organise streaming services such as Netflix, Prime and Disney+ in one app and is in use in 59 countries.
She says she was inspired to get involved in British politics because of her “challenges and experiences” launching a start-up business in the UK and it is her “main focus to help support the local high street businesses, entrepreneurs and SMEs in the Bristol North East area”.
Rose said: “I truly believe that at times like these, what matters the most is not always winning, but standing up for what is right and pushing for positive change, especially when it can enrich the lives of so many people and I am honoured to be selected by the members of Bristol North East to represent them in the upcoming election.”
Married with two daughters, she has lived in Bath & North East Somerset since 2017.
The Bristol North East seat is being created from parts of three constituencies: Kingswood, currently held by Conservative Chris Skidmore; Bristol East, which is held by Labour’s Kerry McCarthy and Filton & Bradley Stoke, held by Tory Jack Lopresti.
The Kingswood seat, which includes Mangotsfield, is disappearing and Chris Skidmore has already announced he is retiring from Parliament.
Staple Hill is the only part of the Filton & Bradley Stoke constituency moving into Bristol North East. As well as Staple Hill & Mangotsfield, three other South Gloucestershire electoral wards – New Cheltenham, Kingswood and Woodstock – will be part of Bristol North East.
All nine councillors elected from the four wards in May’s South Gloucestershire elections were Labour.
The Bristol wards of Eastville, Frome Vale, Hillfields and Lockleaze, which are moving from Bristol East returned four Labour, three Green and one Conservative councillor at the last elections in 2021.