By election in Lambeth

Yes, it's official. Last night Lambeth Green Party voted to nominate me to stand in the Princes Ward By election in Kennington, to be held on June 4th (same day as the Euros). I have secured the signatures of ten good electors of the ward and they have been deposited and accepted by Electoral Services at Lambeth Town Hall. Thanks to my agent, Roger Baker, for his assistance.

I blogged about this ward a few weeks ago under 'Absentee Councillors'. The councillor who resigned spent the last two years living in Bristol and was backed to the hilt by the Labour Lambeth Council Leader, Steve Reed. The ward is surrounded on both sides by Liberal Democrat controlled wards, who are the main opposition party in Lambeth, and ran the council, together with the Tories, up until the last local elections in 2006. This by election will be seen as a bellweather one and will give an indication of whether the opposition can take back control of the Council next year from Labour. There has already been intense local interest in the press and local blogs and both Labour and the Lib Dems will pour in all their resources to fight this battle. A win for Labour will increase morale and suggest that they can keep control of Lambeth, a win for the Lib Dems will suggest that Labour's days are numbered at the Town Hall and will considerable collapse in morale, at a time when Labour morale everywhere is already low.

I have already spoken to 'The South London Press' who are going to cover the by election closely and have already agreed to appear at a hustings organised by the newly formed Lambeth Disability Forum. I work in the disability field and am also disabled, so I am hoping to perform well at that.

My information is that only the Greens, Tories, Lib Dems and Labour are running. But this could change. I am hoping to present myself as a radical alternative to the tired old politics of Tweedledum and Tweedledee at the Town Hall, which has led the local Labour MP, Kate Hoey, to describe the Council's Housing Dept, in a recent speech in the Commons, as "a model of ineptitude under all regimes" which have controlled Lambeth for as long as anyone can remember.

The ward probably contains a higher proportions of MPs and Lords than anywhere else in London. The electoral roll includes David Steel and Charles Kenneddy. This is because it is close to parliament and an ideal spot for a London home - one of the issues which has been in the headlines a lot recently. However, most of the ward consists of council housing and some of the poorest people in London, with a large Black and Ethnic Minority population. It also has a large LGBT population, due to its proximity to Vauxhall, which has become London's second gay village in the last few years. Both myself and the Lib Dem candidate are members of this community.

There is an unfortunate history of dirty tricks being used in this ward. The last time around it was the Labour Party smearing their Lib Dem opponent, although they vigorously denied it afterwards. But I certainly hope that a clean campaign is conducted by all. I will certainly not stoop to any such levels and will argue only on policies and on the record of the various parties in Lambeth and nationally.

I already had a good respons getting the nomination papers signed and feel that there is a potential strong Green vote there and I will be offering an alternative to the policies of the neo-liberal parties. Anyway, the starter's gun has fired and we are off!

The photo shows Vauxhall City Farm, a very valued local amenity, which bring the countryside to many inner city children in Lambeth and shows how animals should be properly treated in an environment where the South London Press reports weekly on terrible examples of cruelty to animals.