The local Green Party will be hoping that its parliamentary candidate for Croydon South is as industrious, and productive, as the bees she has helped nurture in a wildlife project she helped to establish at Heathfield House.
Environmental volunteer: Green candidate Elaine Garrod
Elaine Garrod has been named as the Green Party’s candidate for Croydon South in the General Election that is expected to be held some time in the next 12 months, in a seat currently held by Conservative government minister Chris Philp.
Philp retained the Croydon South seat in 2019 polling 52% of the vote, with a 12,339 majority, when the Greens finished fourth (of five) and lost their deposit.
Croydon South is probably the seat least affected by the latest boundary changes, although the areas it has given up to the new Croydon West and Croydon East constituencies could see it voting even more solidly Tory.
Garrod has been a Green Party candidate in the last two sets of council elections, when she has stood in Woodside ward.
She says she was brought up in in Croydon and has lived here most of her life. She currently works for a financial services firm that helps business accelerate the transition to net zero.
Garrod has been active in a range of voluntary community work, including setting up the Bee World garden at Heathfield House as well as fund raising for the Trees4Croydon scheme.
“I am really pleased to be selected to stand for the Green Party in Croydon South, to offer people realistic hope for the future,” Garrod said.
“Over recent years we’ve seen our country run into the ground – bills rising, businesses failing, and underfunded public services falling apart when we need them most.
“As the covid enquiry progresses we can see how the Conservative Government failed us when we needed them to be dealing with the pandemic. Sadly, they are also completely failing us as we face the climate and ecological emergency that threatens the future of humanity.
“Just getting the Conservatives out isn’t enough. The other parties are only offering tinkering around the edges, not real solutions to the problems we face.
“That’s why I’m so proud of our Green New Deal policies. We are putting forward plans that not only tackle the climate emergency, they support small businesses, bring public services back into public hands, put money back into the local economy and back into people’s pockets. Our Green New Deal would make us a world leader in delivering a sustainable economy, an example to others and a country to be proud of.”
The Greens have already named their candidates for the new Croydon West seat – Marley King – and Croydon East – Peter Underwood.
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I fear this candidate will be stung by her failure in the forthcoming election. But will she get a buzz out of splitting the vote and reducing Labour’s chance of victory?