A former Maidstone Grammar School pupil will stand for the Labour Party in next year’s General Election.

Allen Simpson, 31, originally from East Malling will contest Maidstone and the Weald in 2015.

Currently living in Dulwich and working for Barclays Bank, Mr Simpson plans to move back if elected, adding that he still considers Maidstone to be his home and cares very much about the town, with both his parents still living there.

Having attended St James’ Primary School, he left MGS in 2001 and graduated from the University of York in 2005 going on to work in the House of Commons before moving on to the Ministry of Justice and then into finance.

Asked why he was standing, he said: “If you think something is wrong you should go and put it right.”

Identifying the main issues in the area as unemployment and housing, he said he would seek to bring high quality jobs in things like manufacturing to the town while supporting the current plan to build 19,600 new homes.

He added: “The figure is not wrong, but it is where to place these new houses that is the main issue.”

He said new houses should be built in significant out-of-town areas, citing Kings Hill as an example of a good mixed-use development, with nearby industry supplying employment.

Mr Simpson said he had heard the criticism that Maidstone’s current MP, Helen Grant, was spending too much time on her ministerial role and not enough in the community and said he planned to commit as much time as possible towards the town if elected.

Despite Labour’s poor performance in 2010 he has no intention of being opposition for the sake of opposition and plans to target the army of young voters who were currently disengaged in politics by visiting local schools and launching a social media campaign.