Who is Standing for Election in Chelsea and Fulham ?
Meet the candidates from the three main parties
Candidates from the three main parties are hitting the campaign trail in the parliamentary constituency of Chelsea and Fulham, following confirmation that there will be a General Election on 12 December.
This could prove to be the most interesting election battle since the constituency was created in 2010, with one recent projection that the Lib Dems could achieve a shock victory in what was a very safe Conservative seat.
So who are the candidates hoping to attract your vote?
The Conservative candidate is Greg Hands, who of course has held the seat since 2010, and who won the last election with a majority of over 8,000.
He has dual American / British nationality and lives in Fulham with his German wife Irina and their son and daughter. He speaks five European languages, including German.
He has had a 30 year long career in local and national politics, having joined Fulham Conservative in 1991, becoming a councillor in 1998 and MP for Hammersmith & Fulham in 2005, and for the new constituency of Chelses and Fulham since 2010.
He served as a Minister in a number of government departments since 2010, most recently the new Department of International Trade, before resigning in 2018 in order to meet his election commitments of voting against a third runway at Heathrow airport.
Opposing the runway is still one of his top priorities. His Plan for Chelsea and Fulham has five points:
1) Opposing a third runaway at Heathrow
2) Improving District Line services
3) Ensuring a safe community
4) Promoting a successful local economy
5) Supporting our local hospitals
Find out more about his plans on his website.
In October the Lib Dems announced that City 'superwoman' Nicola Horlick was standing for election in Chelsea and Fulham.
Nicola, 58, who lives in Barnes, became well known in the 1990s for managing to combine a successful City career with being the mother of six children. After spending over 30 years as a leading fund manager, she now runs a crowdfunding service called Money & Co.
She says he has supported the Liberal Democrats all her life and her father was Michael Gayford, a Lib Dem candidate in the 1970s for the Wirral constituency.
Making the announcement, Nicola said: " I have to take a stand after the extraordinary events of the last few weeks. We must fight against Brexit and restore order to government after the chaos created by the Conservatives.
"The things that really matter to the people of Chelsea and Fulham, and the country have been ignored. Labour seems to be even more confused over Brexit. Only the Liberal Democrats can fix the mess."
And on her Twitter account, @NicolaHorlick, she said: " I believe Chelsea & Fulham deserves an MP who will fight to StopBrexit, protect our economy and improve our NHS. I’m ready to serve."
Find out more about her pledges on her website.
Labour's candidate in the upcoming election is Matt Uberoi, a familiar figure to many local people as a councillor in Fulham's Sands End ward and a community worker in Chelsea, based on the World's End Estate.
His parents migrated to the UK in the 1950’s – his mum from Ireland and dad from India. Matt grew up in London and has lived in Chelsea & Fulham all his adult life. He has been a season ticket holder at Chelsea Football Club for 23 years and knows the area inside out. He met his wife in the constituency and his little girl was born in the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital.
His political awakening had a highly unusual beginning. As his website explains, when Matt was 21, and a student at university, he was an intern at an investment bank. He made a big mistake which resulted in him being found guilty of insider dealing and, as a consequence, he spent three-months in prison.
This had a profound and lasting impact on him. In prison, bad things happen to vulnerable people. He realised that the outside world is not that dissimilar, the experience resulted in him becoming a passionate advocate for equality and fairness.
Though his conviction is now 'spent', he is open about his past and recently wrote a blog abut his experience, in which he says: " I didn’t join the Labour Party for redemption. I joined the Labour party - and work hard in Sands End - because I want to change our world. I look at the ignorant, selfish, cruelty of Conservative cuts and am filled with a burning desire to build a different path for our community and demonstrate to the world that you can turn your life around even when you have lost everything."
Matt says he has three priorities: stopping Brexit, reversing cuts and going green and fighting the Heathrow third runway.
Find out more about his plans for Chelsea and Fulham on his website.
A number of other candidates are expected to fight for the seat in Chelsea and Fulham. Watch this space for further details.
November 1, 2019