Croydon MP Andrew Pelling to fight general election as an independent (From Croydon Guardian)
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Croydon MP Andrew Pelling to fight general election as an independent
12:20pm Tuesday 30th March 2010 in News Exclusive By Kirsty Whalley
Croydon Central MP Andrew Pelling
Croydon Central MP Andrew Pelling has finally announced he will be standing as an independent candidate in the next general election.
After months of speculation the MP announced his decision in an exclusive interview with the Croydon Guardian.
There are fears among senior Croydon Conservatives he will split the Tory vote paving the way for Labour’s Gerry Ryan to win the election.
Mr Pelling, a former Conservative Party member, said it had been a difficult choice to make.
His announcement pits him against his former colleague and friend, the Conservative candidate Gavin Barwell.
Mr Pelling was outcast from the Conservative party after the whip was withdrawn following allegations he assaulted his wife in September 2007.
No charges were brought against Mr Pelling.
He told the Croydon Guardian: “I have thought very carefully about this, I am not going into this election intending to scupper the result but wanting to win and that is why it has taken so long to get to the starting line.”
He has spoken previously of his feeling of betrayal when he was ousted and never taken back in by the party he served for more than 20 years.
Croydon Central was a hotly contested seat in the 2005 general election.
Mr Pelling won by just 75 votes with a 4.4 per cent swing against Labour’s Geraint Davies who had held the seat since 1997.
The vote was so close there had to be two recounts before the final result was announced.
Mr Barwell is putting everything he has into this election, pinning his future career on winning the seat for the Conservatives.
He has stepped down as a councillor for the Coulsdon West ward and quit his full time job with the Conservative party where he worked as Operations Director until 2006, after which was self employed, advising politicians and organisations on campaign management. This also included work for Conservative billionaire Lord Michael Ashcroft.
Mr Pelling said: “I think it’s very sad, I am upset to be running against Gavin. My approach with the campaign is to be entirely positive. I am talking about what I can offer. Gavin is earnest, you can see that in his leaflets.
“My attitude towards the Conservatives is entirely positive. People may get upset or concerned about what I am doing but I am standing because I want to win.
“It’s about public service, not self-service.”
Mr Pelling said he stands out from the other candidates, which include Labour's Gerry Ryan, as an independent.
He said: “There are great advantages to being independent and being away from the party machine.
“It gives me an enormous amount of freedom.”
This year will mark the 28th anniversary of Mr Pelling being involved in politics. He was first elected as a councillor for Broad Green when he was 22.
He said: “I am very much up for representing Croydon for another term, there are lots of important issues to speak about.
He plans to make crime his top priority.
He said: “Croydon is in crisis, my family have lived here for six generations. This revolves around the issue of crime. A lot of people don't shop in Croydon because they don't feel safe.”
He said something needs to be done about the knife and gun crime in Croydon’s gangs and will be campaigning to get more police on the streets.
“Visiting mothers and fathers of sons who have been killed all along the A23 and in Thornton Heath, that is very sad.”
Mr Pelling said he is against Croydon Council’s decision to regenerate council-owned land with development partner John Laing by creating the Urban Regeneration Vehicle (CCURV). He is in favour of cancelling the new council headquarters being built by CCURV on Fell Road.
“I do feel very strongly about the way the local council is becoming involved in property speculation. They are making a play in the market and it is hugely risky, it is a lot of money.
“The council should be in the business of providing local services.
“I am very concerned about the incinerator proposal. It is clear to me we are going for something on Beddington Lane.”
Mr Pelling will also be campaigning to save Croydon's A&E as he fears it is at risk of being downgraded.
He will be fighting for his seat against Gavin Barwell (Con), Gerry Ryan (Lab), Peter Lambell (Lib Dem), Berenice Golberg (Green) and Ralph Atkinson (UKIP).
Comments(27)
mmj1
says...
1:36pm Tue 30 Mar 10
Why stand against them then. Andrew has spent many years defending Conservative principals, but ditches them when they no longer suit him. To Conservative supporters he portrays himself as a Conservative and to Labour supporters he portrays himself as a socialist.
Which one is it?
Voting for Andrew will be a wasted vote. It will only mean that Labour's Gerry Ryan gets elected.
Do you really want another Labour government, because that's what you get by voting for Andrew.
He just seems to value the job of MP more than serving the people of Croydon.
newaddingtontony
says...
2:11pm Tue 30 Mar 10
mon chevalieer
says...
2:36pm Tue 30 Mar 10
We welcome more immigrants to croydon more the merrier as far as im concerned its the hub for newcomers to settle in something croydon should be very proud of
nick@croydon
says...
2:46pm Tue 30 Mar 10
peterincroydon
says...
2:47pm Tue 30 Mar 10
Voting for Andrew will be a waste of time. If you agree we need a change of government, then you should vote for Gavin Barwell. He is working really hard to improve things in Croydon and I believe deserves all the support he can get. If you really want another 5 years of Gordon, then voting for Andrew isn't the best way to get you that either.
Even if Andrew was elected, he won't achieve much - independents have no influence in government. Even with a hung Parliament, party-affiliated MP's would have more say.
Mariapp
says...
2:48pm Tue 30 Mar 10
David Goodwin
says...
4:22pm Tue 30 Mar 10
I would ask everyone to remember how hard Andrew Pelling has worked for Croydon over the years.
He has a very loyal following who will certainly vote for him. A vote for him is therefore not a wasted vote. His re-election is quite feasible. I also hope that his standing as an independent candidate will enable him to attract support from non-Conservative voters.
I am afraid that the Conservative candidate, Councillor Barwell, is tainted by the fact that he is a member of the ruling Conservative group on Croydon Council - which issued a Compulsory Purchase Order for the Croydon Gateway Site with a view to building an arena. Few – if any - of the local residents within the Croydon Central constituency wanted an arena and feel able to forgive both the Labour and Conservative councillors for the blight which they have inflicted on the area around the Gateway site.
With the exception of the three Conservative councillors representing Ashburton ward, Andrew Pelling was the only elected representative consistently to represent the interests of local residents and object to the arena from the very beginning through to the enquiry.
Croydon Council – and this country –both need a few more independent representatives.
I hope that Andrew Pelling standing for re-election as an independent will encourage more people to stand for election as independent representatives to the council. Once elected, the local Conservative councillors representing the Fairfield Ward sat on the fence throughout the entire Gateway saga. Councillor Mohan wrote to me stating that he believed “that the best course of action at present would be to wait for the outcome of the public enquiry … before a final decision is taken on how the site is to be developed”.
mcblount
says...
5:11pm Tue 30 Mar 10
ParkHillResident
says...
5:47pm Tue 30 Mar 10
I canvassed for Andrew Pelling in 2005 and cannot support him this time because the only way to get a change of government is to vote Conservative. There are more important issues to be voting on in this General Election than whether or not you feel that Andrew Pelling should have been deselected as a Conservative candidate. I know Andrew Pelling has been a hard worker for the Conservatives for many years but I am afraid the allegations against him in 2007 were serious and in such circumstances I think the Conservative party did the right thing in selecting someone else to fight the seat this time. I think Andrew Pelling should have preserved some dignity by stepping aside gracefully and taken up alternative offers of employment.
His decision to stand smacks of spite against the Conservatives and self-interest.
GetBritainOut
says...
10:24pm Tue 30 Mar 10
borders!
Thursday, 25th March 2010
The cost to Britain of remaining in the EU has risen to £6.4bn this year – more than twice the membership fee from 2008/09 and £800m more than Alistair Darling accounted for in the 2009 budget.
The new figures came to light in Treasury documents published yesterday along with the budget. The numbers show that European Union coffers continue to grow healthily, even while the single currency falters and member states endure the most torrid financial times in living memory.
Mats Persson, a spokesman for the Open Europe think tank, said: "It's extraordinary that when virtually every single government in Europe is forced to cut its public expenditure the EU sees fit to increase its own.
"The UK’s contribution keeps on going up at a time when every penny counts. Surely we can think of better ways to spend £7.6 billion a year during the worst recession for a generation?"
© Daily Telegraph
vkuhan01
says...
11:50pm Tue 30 Mar 10
Aren't we in Croydon Central lucky to have a choice of candidates including an independant incumbent Member of Parliament, whose service to the electorate is legendary.
The election is about electing a representative to represent us - the electorate - in Parliament. Not the bag carrying kind, who end up either as a lobby fodder or a bag carrier to their masters.People are fed up with the comedy of Labour/Conservative Punch and Judy show.I am not a Conservative, but I am glad I have a choice, and most definitely I will cast my vote for Andrew, to give the chance for the emergence of some sensible relevant politics, that can make a difference to the quality of our life in Croydon rather than the present sterile variety, which is destroying any faith in the current political process. Thank you Andrew for your brave decision. As you will see the Tory knives are already out. I am sure the electorate can see through this ugly spectacle of personal abuse directed at you. Just cheer up. The people you represented will remember your public service and will show how truly grateful they are on election day.
Mr Anthony Miller
says...
11:39am Wed 31 Mar 10
janeabbott
says...
11:02pm Wed 31 Mar 10
ParkHillResident
says...
12:57am Fri 2 Apr 10
By not retaking the Conservative whip Andrew Pelling has not helped his cause.
danmo
says...
3:26pm Fri 2 Apr 10
勒与生长激素
乏症及GHD公司
直发器
concerned scoffer
says...
12:45pm Mon 5 Apr 10
Charlotte L
says...
9:47pm Mon 5 Apr 10
Mr Anthony Miller
says...
11:07am Tue 6 Apr 10
http://www.thisiscro
ydontoday.co.uk/late
stnews/Croydon-MP-An
drew-Pelling-confirm
s-standing-general-e
lection/article-1956
866-detail/article.h
tml
Your comments would seem to contradict those of local party spokesman Rob King
in the Croydon Advertiser who writes
"He applied to have the whip restored but he asked for his agreement not to stand again to be reversed.
This was refused, what did he expect? the party to say 'oh sorry Gavin, Andrew wants his place back again you'll have to move over'?
So instead of trying to get some other role in the future, Andrew has spent the past 2 years feeling sorry for himself and he's now taken this foolish course of action to purely to satisfy his own ego."
With a record 150 MPs standing down at the next election one is left with only either two conclusions to be drawn from this.
Either there is some kind of policy/personality schism
whereby the Conservatives dont want Pelling standing again anywhere.
Or the powers that be in the conservative party know something they're not saying.
Or none of you ever actually liked him anyway.
Perhaps the reality is that having spent a fortune pushing Barwell
Conservative Central Office dont want to have to spend another fortune
explaining that they've changed their mind
and are now pushing Pelling
but your comments would also suggest that Mr Barwell says one thing to one person and another to other people
which is not a recommendation for an MP.
concerned scoffer
says...
1:40pm Tue 6 Apr 10
Charlotte L wrote:I wouldn't keep putting off those hospital appointments for much longer smellytom... you're really so predictable!!
'Concerned Scoffer' , Cliff Le May is standing for the BNP & I'm his agent.
miss honeymoney
says...
2:55pm Tue 6 Apr 10
The Great Britain
says...
4:52pm Tue 6 Apr 10
concerned scoffer wrote:Hospital appointments??? 70 different languages being spoken at the JRH!!!!
Charlotte L wrote:I wouldn't keep putting off those hospital appointments for much longer smellytom... you're really so predictable!!
'Concerned Scoffer' , Cliff Le May is standing for the BNP & I'm his agent.
concerned scoffer
says...
6:04pm Tue 6 Apr 10
Brian X Sewering
says...
8:34am Wed 7 Apr 10
concerned scoffer
says...
8:55am Wed 7 Apr 10
Tamil Rulaz
says...
7:14pm Wed 7 Apr 10
bob grimley
says...
7:56pm Thu 8 Apr 10
Tamil Rulaz wrote:good that'l split the tory vote!
I welcome this move by Honourable Andrew Pelling as he is pro-Tamil. He has promised to put sanctions and other punishment on dirty Sri Lanka to make Sinhalese suffer. So we Tamils shall be voting for him. He has our block vote.
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angelbaby says...
1:33pm Tue 30 Mar 10