Every candidate for the Queen’s Park by-election, including relatives of the Hollywood star and David Cameron

On the same day as the UK general election, four candidates are set to battle it out for a north London council seat after a recent resignation triggered a by-election. Candidates have thrown their hat into the ring to replace a councilor who has represented the area for a decade.

Eleanor Southwood MBE, who also previously held two Cabinet posts on Brent Council, stood down as Queens Park councilor last month. Her departure means the ward needs a new representative, with a by-election scheduled to take place on July 4 – the same day the electorate goes to the polls in the national election.

The candidates representing the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and the Green Party have now been revealed – which includes relatives of actress Helena Bonham Carter and former Prime Minister David Cameron. Meet the candidates below and hear what their priorities are for Queen’s Park.

READ MORE: London General Election 2024 candidates – full list for every MP seat

Leslie Smith – Labor Party

About:

I have lived in the Queen’s Park ward for 20 years, raised a daughter here and served as a local schools governor. It’s a friendly neighborhood and we love living here. I’ve had a long, successful, and highly engaged business career, but now I want to make more time to support our community.

Queens Park is a wonderful place to live. But far too many families find it difficult to make ends meet. I am delighted that Brent’s Resident Support Fund (RSF) can help provide families with a lifeline when they need it. We also need affordable housing, especially for young families. Brent’s homelessness is on the rise and I want to help the council’s efforts to create more affordable housing. The private landlord licensing scheme will make a real difference to safe living standards for tenants.

We have excellent transport links but we have waited far too long for Queens Park to be accessible. Parents are still taking prams up the stairs 17 years after I did, and disabled and older residents don’t have free access. Local people, supported by QPARA, have been pressing the DfT for free access for years and we need to keep the pressure on. We also need to work with local residents to ensure we manage traffic to keep children safe and reduce congestion where we can.

Brent is a working class borough. As the southernmost ward, it’s easy for people here to feel overlooked. We have two great councilors in Neil Nerva and Steve Crabb and I want to work with them to ensure that from Kensal Green to Queen’s Park we make local voices heard.

Virginia Bonham Carter – Liberal Democrats

About:

My name is Virginia and I have lived in Queen’s Park Ward for over thirty years. I’ve been a local school governor, president of the residents’ association I’m still involved with, and I’m a trustee of the Queen’s Park Book Festival.

I am running in the Queen’s Park Ward by-election to help the small but active Liberal Democrat council group led by Cllr Anton Georgiou. We can provide opposition and control over the huge Labor majority on Brent Council. Labor has been in power for over 12 years, while also controlling the Greater London Authority.

I’m writing this at 8:30am and there is total and utter traffic chaos due to a poorly thought out scheme. We need an origin and destination study to properly understand and solve the problem. Related to this is the fact that Kensal Green & Queen’s Park stations need lifts – if public transport is to be used by all, it must be accessible to all – a promise often made and broken.

Failed waste management arrangements have led to dirtier streets littered with flimsy blue fly-tipping bags and waste spilled from them.

We must work to provide safe streets for our young people if we want them to walk or bike to and from school. We need to protect our doctors’ surgeries so people can call for an appointment with a family doctor locally. The environment we live in matters – whether it’s the condition of our roads and pavements, the quality of our local waterways or the air we breathe. The Liberal Democrats support all these things with a proper, pragmatic manifesto.

I’m just sorry that this by-election is on the same day as the general election, which gives us less time to talk about important local issues for those of us who live and work in Queen’s Park, Kensal Rise and Kensal Green.

Emily Sheffield – Conservative Party

About:

We know that on July 4th we have an important decision to make about the future of this country. But just as importantly, in the Queen’s Park ward, we have a local statement that day as there is an opportunity to vote for a new councillor.

And I am writing to present myself as a Conservative candidate for that council role. I have lived in the area for two decades and raised my sons here with my husband.

This is our home. And it’s a great place to raise a family and make friends. But there is currently no opposition to Labor in the ward and very little on the Council – that means no one is there to hold their actions to account. I started my career at the Evening Standard as a young journalist, eventually becoming Editor, so I’ve spent my working life supporting Londoners. I will be a strong voice for you on Brent Council, defending this ward. I’ve researched your concerns on the doorstep and can promise:

• I will challenge the unworkable traffic schemes in the ward
• Ask the tough questions about the massive development planned at Sainsbury’s about how it will affect residents in Kensal Rise
• Ask the strategy behind the constant rotation of roadworks on Chamberlayne Road that affects so many

I will also protect our local green spaces, such as South Hampstead Cricket Club, which is frequently used by children in Queens Park. Brent Council recently cut street litter clearance and spent years refusing to fix potholes. Our teenagers are being mugged for their phones after dark – we need bobbies on the beat and better CCTV. But I will also support the interests of local businesses and local charities such as Laurence’s Larder and nearby Avenues Youth Club.

I go out to the ward every night, knock on doors, introduce myself and catch up with friends. And in the next two weeks I hope to meet as many residents as possible to hear your views. And we hope you earn your trust and vote to be your local champion on July 4th.

Ricardo Davies – Green Party

About:

Queen’s Park is the target council ward, I understand how impactful and important it will be to have a green councilor in Brent. I am a northerner who first moved to London in 2019, first visiting the area and later in 2020 moving to Queens Park. The ward is representative of some of the best aspects of London, we have a diverse community, excellent local independent businesses and some of the best green spaces in the city. While there are great things about the ward and the wider borough, there are issues such as deprivation and inequality.

As a young renter I was massively affected by poor quality housing and the ongoing housing crisis. This has motivated me to be proactive and make a difference in the community and I am an active member of the organizing committee of the Brent London Tenants Union. My involvement in the union has brought me around the borough and enabled me to engage with the wide and wonderful communities we have in the district.

I want to be the candidate who represents the best of our borough and I want to show what the Green Party can do for Brent. Queens Park and Brent deserve a councilor who wants to deliver for the people. We need a councilor who will hold the complacent Labor majority to account.

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