Berrylands by-election candidates in their own words

The last election in 2010 saw the Lib Dems win two out of three Berrylands seats.

Lib Dem candidate Frances Moseley, who died in December, won her seat with 2,333 votes.

The second Lib Dem contender, Bob Steed, won a seat with 2,080 votes, and Conservative councillor Karen George won with 1,939
votes.

The Christian People’s Alliance has failed to submit a candidate for the first time in recent years.

Voting will now take place at either the Berrylands Hotel in Chiltern Drive, Surbiton Racket and Fitness Club, or at the Annex in Surbiton library.

Polling stations open at 7am and close at 10pm on the day.

:: Sushila Abraham, Liberal Democrats
:: Tony Banks, Labour
:: Ryan Coley, Green
:: Mike Head, Conservative
:: Michael Watson, UKIP

Sushila Abraham, in her late 50s, solicitor, Lib Dem candidate.

What do you think is the most pressing problem in Berrylands and how would you address it?

“I want to continue what Frances has done. She has helped a lot with the housing situation, with education. We work from the same hymn sheet. I am very keen on things education. I am also very keen on elderly care in the area. I am also very, very keen on the policing in the area and I do not want to lose that. I think the front desk is very important.”

What is one of your favourite places to hang out in Berrylands?

“At the end of the day I would be representing the whole of Berrylands and I would like it totally.  I cannot justify preferring one area or another.”

What are your hobbies?

“I love cooking. I love playing golf. I do walk as well, that is why I know Berrylands very well. I love cycling, reading and travelling. I want to help children during the half terms and start cooking lessons. Some of them just sit in front of the TV because they can’t afford lessons like this.”

Why should people vote for you?

“I will stand ground and I will stand for what is right and what has to be done. I will not be put under pressure from anyone else. That is the kind of person that I am.”

Tony Banks, 53, journalist, Labour candidate

What do you think is the most pressing problem in Berrylands and how would you address it?

“The threat to services is the main issue, the government cuts that have been passed upon the council. The council has been forced to cut services and move services and it is the preservation of these that I am most concerned about. Obviously the most high profile of these is Surbiton library.

"Also the prospective closure of Millbank. There are claims that there is not enough usage there. You walk around in Berrylands, people do not know it is there."

What is one of your favourite places to hang out in Berrylands?

“It is probably the walk down by Hogsmill, the green park and the area there. It is just peaceful and quiet. I like the fact that it is safe and clean. My kids can go out.

"For someone like me with two kids growing up in an area it is a good place to live. But there is not necessarily any one specific place in all honesty. I just like Berrylands as a whole."

What are your hobbies?

“I run football teams. I used to be involved with the Kingstonian league and the PDF league, which plays on King George’s field in Tolworth.”

Why should people vote for you?

"People should vote for me if they want someone who cares about Berrylands, who will work hard and will provide an alternative voice on the council."

Ryan Coley, 19, currently unemployed, Green Party candidate.

What do you think is the most pressing problem in Berrylands and how would you address it?

“Berrylands is quite a quiet ward. From what I have read, an area in it is the second most deprived area in Kingston.

"I will be highlighting cuts to the NHS locally and the job situation. The biggest worries are job security and health. I would be the only Green party representative.

"I would be there to challenge and oppose what I determine unnecessary cuts, to fight for the best possibly outcome in the council."

What is one of your favourite places to hang out in Berrylands?

“My favourite place to go is probably a pub near Berrylands station. It is quite a nice pub.”

What are your hobbies?

“I volunteer as a youth football coach. I have one team at Kingston little league football, for all abilities, and most ages. I also do the Sunday league teams, which are a bit more competitive. I play video games and go out with my mates.”

Why should people vote for you?

"I am not like any of the other candidates. I am young and I am determined to actually make a change in my local area."

Mike Head, 60, financial adviser, Tory candidate

What do you think is the most pressing problem in Berrylands and how would you address it?

“I have a three-point plan to address local issues. We have a major problem around the whole of the Berrylands area with flooding.

"The drains and gutters around the area need maintaining properly. Large parts are not maintained very well. The green spaces of Berrylands are not very well maintained, we have nice wide grass verges.

"There are also back garden developments going on, where a person would buy a garden and build on it.

"They are putting in buildings that I do not think fit the blueprint of the area. On the bigger picture I have been chairman of governors at Grand Avenue primary school. Both of my children went there. I was also the vice chairman of governors of Richard Challoner school. I have a particular interest in education locally.”

What is one of your favourite places to hang out in Berrylands?

“I do frequent the Berrylands pub. I think it is a bit of an icon and one thing we are not blessed with in Berrylands is pubs. It is a bit of a landmark.

"There are no pubs within about a mile radius and a lot of commuters frequent it on their way home. It is a bit of a magnet for the area.

"I also like the fishponds on the edge of my area. I do a lot of jogging, I tend to know the area quite well."

What are your hobbies?

“I cycle, I play golf, I follow football, I play the guitar, I run, I love travelling and I love reading. I love skiing. I have been doing that for 30 odd years. That keeps me quite busy.”

Why should people vote for you?

"I have lived in the ward for 30 years and I have seen a fair deterioration since we have had a Liberal Democrat majority in Kingston.

"One of the reasons I got into politics was to try and change things for the better. I want to engage with the people of Berrylands, and be accessible.

"One of the most important things is to be accessible to the people, to be an accessible councillor irrespective of their political allegiance.”

Michael Watson, 59, shop carpenter, UKIP candidate

What do you think is the most pressing problem in Berrylands and how would you address it?

"I think the problem particular to Berrylands and really the rest of the country is that all the three main parties have ruined the place, with high taxes for example.

"The country has gone to the dogs and we need a new party. Berrylands is a microcosm of the rest of Great Britain, and we need to address the problems here."

What is one of your favourite places to hang out in Berrylands?

The Berrylands Tavern. It is the only pub in the neighbourhood. It is very English in character, it feels like a good English pub. It is a symbol of the Berrylands way of life."

What are your hobbies?

“Politics are my hobby, and swimming, reading, and foreign languages. I speak Spanish. I lived there and I was much enamoured of the language, culture and people, and I wanted to embrace it.”

Why should people vote for you?

"Our agenda is healthy for the country. It will return the country to prosperity.

"The three main parties - the Lib Dems, Labour and the Conservatives - have ruined the country. We have got the possibility of having one hundred thousand Romanians and Bulgarians wanting to come to the country.

"If they choose to come here they are going to undermine the immigrants already here, undermining the British. I fear for the social balance.

"I fear that there will be violence. UKIP policies are humane and sensible and will return the country to rights."