Britain's 2015 General Election campaign is formally underway, and in the Hammersmith constituency - which includes most of the W12, W6 and W14 postcodes in an area running from Lillie Road in the south to Wormwood Scrubs in the north - candidates from all five main parties are hoping to become our next local MP.

The candidates are:

Andy Slaughter, Labour Party

Andy Slaughter was MP for Hammersmith after winning the seat in the 2010 General Election as well as Shadow Justice Minister, serving on the Labour Party's frontbench. He had previously been MP for Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush from 2005 to 2010 and before that, Leader of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Council.

Andy was born in Hammersmith and educated at Peterborough Primary Fulham and the independent Latymer Upper School before studying English at the University of Exeter. He lived in for 16 years in Hammersmith before moving in 1998 to Askew Road in Shepherd's Bush.

Andy has been involved in many local campaigns including stopping hospital closures, saving Shepherd's Bush Market and the borough's housing crisis.

For more about Andy and Labour's election campaign visit Hammersmith and Fulham Labour website and Andy's own site.

Charlie Dewhirst, Conservative Party

Charlie grew up in Yorkshire, went to Edinburgh
University and moved to Hammersmith and Fulham to take up a job in sports broadcasting before moving into the business world to represent a wide variety of organisations including UK Sport, the organisation responsible for delivering British Olympic and Paralympic success, where he has been for the last three years.

Charlie says both his heart and head led him to join the Conservative Party. He worked at the grassroots for a number of years and in 2010 it was a privilege to be elected as a councillor for Ravenscourt Park Ward. He has greatly enjoyed representing local residents, helping to solve their problems and ensuring that their concerns are heard and understood by the local Council.

For more on Charlie and the Conservatives' election campaign visit Hammersmith Conservatives website and Charlie's own site.

Millicent Scott - Liberal Democrats

Millicent Scott was born in Hammersmith and grew up in Shepherd’s Bush. She went to St Peter’s Primary School in Hammersmith and St Paul’s Girls’ School on Brook Green.

Millicent says she decided to stand for Parliament only after many years campaigning for a more representative democracy and a more diverse range of people in politics. She is a supporter of electoral reform and the Votes at 16 campaign and spend time volunteering on the digital campaign 50:50 Parliament. In her spare time she is a keen cyclist, knitter and guerrilla gardener.

Find out more about Millicent and the Liberal Democrats' election campaign on the Hammersmith and Fulham Liberal Democrats website.

David Akan - Green Party

David works in construction as a Planning Manager and lives in Hammersmith with his wife.  While he was growing up his father ran a small business on King Street close to Stamford Brook Station.  David was the first in his family to go to university, where he studied politics and history.  He has been a keen activist ever since, campaigning on a wide range of issues from local allotments to prisoners of conscience. 

David says he decided to join the Green Party because of its focus on thinking long-term to build a sustainable economy and environment. He says the Green Party believes in a fairer society and a politics that looks to the future and the effect that smaller parties are having on the national debate shows that voting for what you believe in is never a wasted vote.

Find out more about David and the Green Party's election campaign at the West Central London Green Party website.

Richard Wood - UKIP

Richard Wood has lived in Hammersmith since 1984 and has over 50 years experience in businesses. He started in business in 1961 at 18 and by 19 had a staff of 39 working for local governments, NHS, Generating Board, and Schools.
 
In 1966, he joined the Merchant Navy, becoming interested in travel, visiting over 80 countries. In 1968 he joined IOS working on Pensions and Investments responsible for the Estate Duty of Percy Shaw.  In 1997 he stood as the Referendum Party Parliamentary Candidate for Pontefract working with Sir James Goldsmith. He is also a Freeman of the City of London.
 
Richard says that Britain is bankrupt and asks shall we give up and go bankrupt, or shall we get out of the EU, you decide!

Find out more about Richard and UKIP's election campaign at UKIP's website.

 

March 30, 2015