With polling day for the 2024 General Election looming ever closer, Nub News is asking local candidates where they stand on key issues in Kingston & Surbiton.

These articles will be published throughout the week to help keep voters informed before they reach the ballot box on Thursday 4 July.

To kick off the week, we decided to get to know the candidates a bit better, asking: why are you running in Kingston & Surbiton, and what do you think the most pressing issue is for locals?

Ali Abdulla – Workers Party

"I am a local dad of two boys, working in the construction industry building the 5G network infrastructure around Kingston and neighbouring areas.

"I am, as many others, facing the same issues of living cost crisis, high rent/mortgage rates and increase in crime. 

"We have had the same representation for a very long time with no tangible change: it's time for a fresh start."

Major issue

"The lack of affordable housing, which impacts living standards and exacerbates social inequality in the community."

A.Gent Chinners – Monster Raving Loony Party

"I have lived in various parts of RBK since 1981 when my family returned to the borough after living out in the Hampshire woods."

"At present there is no 'None Of The Above' option on the ballot. So, until then, there is the Official Monster Raving Loony Party option."

Major issue

"The current RBK Council has spent an excessive amount of effort building mainly underused, and in some areas dangerously laid out, cycle lanes in return of charging constituents one of the highest Council Taxes in the UK. 

"Many of these should be converted into safer lanes for space-hoppers with those in shopping centres being given over to those with prams & pushchairs."

Debojyoti Das – Greens

"I have lived in Kingston (New Malden) over 11 years and my children go to local primary school and my wife works for the Surrey County Council in Children Services. We are part of the local community."

"I am running in the constituency to change the business-as-usual politics, to end austerity and to bring about real hope and real change in the local community through a bold and honest manifesto."

Major issue

"Lack of a leisure centre with the closure of Kingfisher and rising cost of living fuelled by no cap on council tax, reduced bus services (213, 57) and ways people feel priced out in the property market."

Ed Davey – Liberal Democrats

"I love our borough - my home for 30 years. We have such a strong community and there is much to cherish, whether it's the Thames, Surbiton's iconic Station or our amazing Kingston Hospital."

"Nothing matters more to me than fighting for our community - whether it be fighting the scandal of sewage dumping in local rivers like the Hogsmill, or championing new GP investment and more local dentists." 

"I'm particularly focused on fighting for our NHS, and more support for local carers. I lost both my parents to cancer as a child, and I've been a carer for most of my life – which has motivated me to fight for change."

Major issue

"When knocking on doors, the number one concern I hear from local people is the NHS. We have a fantastic local hospital and hard-working, talented GPs. But nationally, the Conservatives have run our NHS into the ground. 

"It's far too hard to see a dentist, and it's a scandal that under the Conservatives, loved ones have to be treated in crammed hospital corridors. I'm campaigning for free personal care for elderly and disabled people (helping get them out of hospital more quickly), and for more GP investment."

Helen Edward – Conservatives

"I was born in Chessington and my mother was a theatre nurse at Kingston Hospital where I now volunteer in A&E. 

"Health, education, safety and community are tops for me."

Major issue

"ULEZ and The Kingfisher Leisure Centre."

Mark David Fox – Reform

"When Rishi Sunak panicked and called the election after learning of Nigel Farage's plans for later in 2024, Reform UK had no Kingston & Surbiton candidate. I, like the Conservative candidate, am a resident of the Richmond Park constituency.

"Kingston & Surbiton does not need an MP who chooses to display his inner Boris Johnson rather than prepare his evidence for the Horizon IT inquiry on 19 July which he was notified about more than three months ago."

Major issue

"The economy. Due to unchecked immigration and the highest tax rate since 1946, which will only get higher with the other parties, the UK has endured no real growth, with the average person being poorer than they were before the banking crisis in 2008."

Eunice O'Dame – Labour

"I love Kingston for its vibrant community spirit and local, community-driven events. From the Seething Wells Fun Days to the celebrations of Chessington and the vibrant Korean culture in New Malden, there's always something to celebrate. 

"I have family here and spend a lot of time in the area, supporting them and their young children who attend school nearby."

"As a working mother, I have personally witnessed the reduction in public service provisions and understand the challenges local authorities face in meeting demand and delivering services for our vulnerable communities."

Major issue

"The most pressing issue facing local residents in Kingston & Surbiton is the cost-of-living and the lack of access to public services. People in various situations are struggling to get by and to receive support when needed. 

"This is unacceptable, and Labour is committed to addressing these challenges. Labour has pulled the country back up and will do it again."

Yvonne Tracey – Independent

"I've lived in New Malden all my life. I'm a grandmother and former postmistress serving local people for more than 30 years at Kingston and New Malden Post Offices.

"Like your readers, I watched Mr Bates v the Post Office which laid bare the massive injustice inflicted on hundreds – if not thousands – of sub-postmasters by a callous and indifferent bureaucracy. It's why I'm standing up for sub postmasters at this election – to get justice for all my ex-Post Office colleagues."

Major issue

"Bringing back Kingston's borough police. Our police spend too long travelling to and from their shifts and police are focused outside the borough meaning crimes like shoplifting are rarely prosecuted – adding to retailers' costs and the price we pay at the shops."

Tomorrow, Tuesday 25 June, we will be asking candidates their plans to tackle Thames Water, and the pollution of local rivers.

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