Read the news today? Oh boy…

Sarah Jones, centre, with supporters at 7am outside East Croydon Station, the start of her 24-hour trek around the constituency

Sarah Jones, Labour’s candidate for Croydon Central, is three hours into a 24-hour tour of the constituency, speaking with everybody from parents and patients to traders and teachers, to learn more about what they want from the new government.

Jones began her marathon shift at 7am at East Croydon Station, the hub of one of her important policy initiatives, which she wants to see re-zoned by the Tory Mayor of London to be in Zone 4 – saving Croydon commuters around £350 per year with fairer fares.

Jones’s trek will continue until 7am on Tuesday, taking in a nursery, speak to parents at the gates of a local school, local businesses, visitors to a soup kitchen, students and job-seekers.

“Croydon is a true 24/7 town from the people who set up their stalls at Surrey Street market at dawn, and the bus drivers that get us to work in the morning to the NHS staff who care for the sick no matter what the hour of the day.

“There are many groups of people whose work goes unnoticed while we’re all tucked up in bed. And their work and commitment add to the rich tapestry of Croydon 24/7. With the general election on the horizon it is important that we listen to the voices of everybody in our community.”

Croydon Central is currently held by the Conservatives, through Gavin Barwell MP. But it is a key marginal target seat for Labour. If successful, Jones would become Croydon’s first woman MP.

And who knows, during the course of the day, Jones may even discover whether there’s the same number of holes in the road as in Blackburn, Lancashire. Someone’s got to count them all…

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