There are seven candidates vying for your vote in the Woodside by-election tomorrow (May 7).

Residents will vote for a new councillor for the ward following the resignation of Tony Newman, Croydon Council’s former leader.

He stepped down as a councillor at the beginning of March five months after he resigned as council leader.

Mr Newman was a Labour councillor for 27 years but oversaw the council’s financial collapse.

The Woodside ward is also represented by current council leader Hamida Ali and fellow Labour councillor Paul Scott.

The following seven candidates are standing in the by-election.

Ian Bone – Independent 

Ian co-founded the South Norwood Tourist Board and founded the anarchist newspaper Class War in 1983.

He said: “I will fight for fully disabled access at Norwood Junction station. It’s a disgrace this has still to be gained – while our own councillors did nothing, Brockley and Crystal Palace have got excellent disabled access as well as Selhurst. Our lot have all the get up and go of a railway sleeper.

“I have Parkinson’s disease which makes the steps a complete no-go for me and my carer but if necessary I will join with others to take direct action to get this long overdue full access achieved.”

Michael Bonello – Labour

Croydon Labour said: “Mike is a local resident focussed on improving Portland Road, better accessibility at Norwood Junction and protecting council services from Tory austerity.”

Alison Johnson – Taking the Initiative Party 

Alison is a reverend at a non-denominational Christian church in Croydon.

She said: “I will be a powerful advocate on education matters in our borough; I will be the voice and supporter for all mothers in our community. I will be a community leader who will continuously challenge housing issues and lack of opportunities for the youth.

“I will advocate for the reformation of financial spending in the borough, and I will keep tackling poverty and homelessness in Croydon.”

Michelle Kazi – Conservative 

As a teaching assistant Michelle says she is passionate about education.

She added: “[Labour have] bankrupted our borough, saddling us and future generations with unimaginable debt. They’ve concreted over our precious green spaces, destroying them forever.

“And perhaps worst of all, they ignored the warnings from our community. Residents of Woodside and right across Croydon saw it coming and have been trying to tell them for years – but Labour didn’t listen.”

Andrew Rendle – Liberal Democrat 

Andrew was previously a Labour councillor in what was the Ashburton ward.

He says he resigned his Labour membership as he was frustrated by the leadership of Tony Newman, the vacated seat is standing in.

He said: “We have seen recently how council tenants have been let down, it should not be journalists unearthing problems but local councillors. As a former councillor and MP’s caseworker, dealing with individuals and helping them with all manner of issues is my motivation for standing.”

Mark Samuel – Independent

Mark most recently stood as an independent in a by-election for the Fairfield ward in November 2019 and before that stood in South Croydon in the 2018 local elections.

According to the website ‘who can I vote for?’ he stood in the 2015 general election as a Putting Croydon First candidate for Croydon South.

Peter Underwood – Green Party

Peter has worked in Westminster and European Parliaments and says his experience will help put Croydon ‘back on the right track’.

He said: “One of the major faults in the council has been that they have ignored the views of people who live here. I believe that power should come from the bottom up, not the top down, and so as your councillor I will work with you and local community groups to develop solutions that really work.

“There are some good councillors on the council but the system has become too lazy and the two main parties rely on you just voting the same way you always have.”