Croydon East general election candidates and policies

Birthed out of Sarah Jones’ old Croydon Central constituency, the new seat was established to better distribute Croydon’s many voters. 

The new constituency includes the neighbourhoods of Addiscombe, New Addington and Addington Village, Selsdon, Selsdon Vale & Forestdale, Shirley and Woodside.

Unlike its neigbour to the West, Croydon East has relatively few candidates running on July 4 with a total of five from all the main parties.

Here’s an alphabetical list of all the candidates standing in Croydon East and a breakdown of what they stand for in their own words.

Jason Cummings – Conservatives

“I’ve lived here in Croydon East for 30 years and many important events from my life have taken place here.

"We held our wedding reception on Shirley Hills, my children were born at home in our first house in Selsdon and we raised them in our current home on the Monks Hill estate.

"I ran the Co-Op on Central Parade in New Addington and have been a Councillor in Shirley for 14 years. 

“I want to be a local MP because Croydon matters to me, not Westminster. My current role on the Council is as the Finance lead and with Mayor Perry I’m working to repair the damage Labour did when they bankrupted our Borough.

"Croydon needs a voice to government that understands Croydon’s position and can advocate in detail to get a long-term solution to the debt mountain we are now saddled with. 

“Other areas of focus are violence against shopworkers, during my 20-year career in retail I was stabbed by a shoplifter myself and know first-hand what people face on a day-to-day basis and also more choice and better care for mothers as they go through having children.

“We were so impacted by our shared journey through pregnancy and childbirth that my wife became an ante-natal teacher and I firmly believe that particularly women are not being given the care and attention they deserve at these times. 

“Voters here in Croydon are not going to decide who forms the next government but we will decide who represents us locally, I am committed to serving the people of Croydon.”

Scott Holman – Reform UK

Holman was approached for information but did not respond in time for publication.

Reform UK’s main manifesto pledges focus on freezing non-essential immigration, stopping small boats crossing the English Channel, lowering NHS waiting lists, reforming income tax and scrapping net zero to encourage affordable energy bills.

Natasha Irons – Labour Party

“I grew up in Mitcham and I’m a proud South Londoner. My dad is a bus driver from Croydon and my step-mum grew up on The Lindens in New Addington.

“The security of our first council home gave my family the stability we needed to work hard and build a better future.

"But I know that the opportunities I had growing up are now the exception and not the rule.

“As your MP I will tackle crime and its complex causes with Labour’s plan to ban Zombie knives, take on the criminal gangs that exploit our kids and open youth hubs to give our young people access to the opportunities they deserve.  

“Fight to protect our high streets from the decline of Croydon town centre with Labour’s plan to get bobbies back on the beat, to roll out banking hubs for in person banking services and to give communities powers to bring empty shops back into use. 

“Be part of a Labour government that will tackle the cost of living and climate crisis by insulating Britain’s draughty homes and setting up GB Energy – a publicly owned renewable energy company. 

“This is the first government in history where living standards are worse at the end of their term than at the beginning. Our new constituency cannot afford more of the same. It’s time for change.”

Andrew Pelling – Liberal Democrats

Andrew Pelling is the former Croydon Central MP, Croydon London Assembly Member and Heathfield ward councillor.

“I think Croydon politics is different from elsewhere after Labour bankrupted the council. I am contesting my seventeenth election in Croydon and offer a strong experienced alternative. 

“I want to see Labour replaced as the progressive choice in Croydon as local Labour are still exhibiting questionable governance.

“I got the BRIT school to Croydon, introduced comprehensive nursery education, persuaded Ken Livingstone to build the Coulsdon by-pass and chaired what became an outperforming Croydon Council pension fund that doubled in size to over £1.7 Billion, making £864.7 million for the Fund or £5,764 per Croydon household. As the former MP I helped 15,565 residents.

“I believe my City experience will help get investment to renew Croydon town centre.

"I would speak up for tolerance and against prejudice, push for new trams to aid the tram system’s recovery, would campaign for extra GPs and seek football regulator law to encourage long-term stable and high-quality football club ownership.”

Peter Underwood – Green Party

Peter has lived in Croydon for over twenty years. He is on the committee of his Residents’ Association and his local woodland Friends group.

He is a former chair of Croydon Friends of the Earth and was also a member of the Croydon Climate Crisis Commission.

Peter was brought up in the midlands of England, the son and grandson of coal miners and car factory workers.

Peter went to his local comprehensive school and, despite becoming homeless when he was 17-years-old, gained a place at Oxford University.

Peter spent the first half of his career working in the civil service. He started off offering benefits advice in Croydon and over the years moved through many different government roles and promotions to end up leading the team that wrote the UK’s renewable energy strategy.

He has worked in both the UK Parliament and the European Parliament.

For the last ten years Peter has worked for environment conservation charities, working to support volunteers looking after our local parks and woodlands as well as working on large rewilding projects in Scotland.

Peter has been active in the Green Party for over ten years and has held roles at local and national level in the party, as well as representing the Green Party of England and Wales at the European level.

“I am so pleased to be selected as the candidate for the area where I live. I’m proud to be standing for the Green Party to bring some honesty, decency, and humanity back into politics.

“We are facing a cost of living crisis, a climate crisis, and a crisis of politics that has become swamped in lies and corruption.

"The Green Party is the only party with solutions to all of those – caring about people, caring about our environment, and caring about trust.

“We have suffered for too long under the current Government and the polling shows that the Conservatives are certainly not going to win this time. 

“In Croydon we have also suffered under Labour. They’ve become a party that cares more about success for itself than improving the lives of people they are supposed to serve.”