An independent candidate for a key South London swing seat has been barred from attending a hustings event this weekend, causing some backlash.
Kingsley ‘Action Man’ Hamilton, as he is listed on the ballot paper, found out he wasn’t to be included in the Sutton and Cheam hustings event after seeing his name omitted from the flyer.
Mr Hamilton, who is known throughout the area for his social media presence and public opposition to the ULEZ expansion, believes matters were made worse when he was invited to join the hustings as a member of the public, despite him being an officially listed candidate. Churches Together Sutton & Cheam (CTSC), who are hosting the hustings this Saturday (June 29), believe Mr Hamilton’s low polling potential justifies the omission but this has not satisfied members of the public who see the move as ‘anti-democratic.’
Mr Hamilton said: “I am a strong believer in democracy and the respect that should be afforded to all regardless of differences of opinion and as such I put my head above the parapet to stand for election, especially as so many seem so disillusioned with career politicians.”
He added: “Indeed a local organisation (CTSC) have used my own Facebook groups to advertise a hustings for the candidates. However I was extremely disappointed to see I was not included in this and given the benefit of the doubt, I simply thought this must be an oversight.
“It quickly became apparent that I was being deliberately excluded from these hustings which were advertised as non-selective, but these cannot be non-selective because the Electoral Commission clearly states that for non-selective hustings, they must have invited all candidates, and not only have I not been invited, upon enquiring, they directly told me I’m not allowed to speak.
“But in a rather patronising twist, I was invited to ask the candidates questions. I am one of the candidates. I paid my own deposit, bought my own leaflets and unlike some of the candidates I actually live in the borough and am well known.”
Mr Hamilton, a father, local DJ and bus driver, decided to run as an independent in an effort to challenge the major parties. On his election flyer, Mr Hamilton states: “I am standing as your local candidate as I believe in getting things done.”
He has run in a number of previous elections, including most recently as an independent in the St Helier West by-election, which was triggered following the resignation of Labour’s Sheila Berry. Although that seat was won on a tight margin by the Conservative’s Catherine Gray, Hamilton came fourth picking up 10 per cent of the vote.
Hamilton also stood as one of the several anti-ULEZ candidates in last year’s Uxbridge by-election, in which the Conservatives defied expectations and kept the West London seat. Hamilton explained how, during that campaign, he attended hustings that would feature all candidates no matter how obscure.
Hamilton said: “When Uxbridge had 17 candidates, all of them were invited to hustings. This is a small list of 6 candidates and they have invited 5 party candidates and excluded me. I don’t want special treatment, I just want fairness and indeed the residents deserve fairness.
“If someone is running a hustings they have a responsibility to be honest and fair. It’s as if they are saying the part where I’m listed on the ballot paper doesn’t count. For Churches Together (CTSC) to be so deliberately obtuse and dishonest makes a mockery of the description “churches together”.
When approached for comment, CTSC representative John Mitchell said: “Before any candidates had even been nominated we decided that the criteria for inviting candidates to the hustings would be ‘candidates representing a party that was putting up a candidate in most of the constituencies in England and were also polling at least 5 per cent in national opinion polls’.”
Mitchell added: “Kingsley Hamilton did not satisfy that criteria and was therefore not invited.”
CTSC has invited Hamilton to attend as a member of the public, which he rejected and said: “I’m sure there are a few spare seats somewhere in the building.”
However, Mr Hamilton’s exclusion from the event has subsequently drawn an online backlash. One Facebook user, Jane Swindle, commented on the event post saying: “So can we clarify, is Kingsley included? Quite frankly there is no one else worth a vote in our ward!”
Another, Mary McDaid, said: “Kingsley, man of the people. Look at his page, look at what he does for the community.
“It’s not really a democracy if you preselect candidates and not have all candidates hoping to represent the borough.”
Hamilton explained how his community work has made this episode even more bitter for him. He has previously provided his PA system free of charge to the same venue due to host the event this Saturday afternoon.
This gesture was made as part of the Remembrance Sunday event, which he has taken part in for the last 10 years. He added: I have been very active in my community for as long as I can remember, helping people with various issues, from parking tickets and unfair charges and even car breakdowns, charity events and even running free day trips for disadvantaged families as well as volunteering locally for many organisations.
At the time of writing, Hamilton has still not yet been asked to join the other candidates on the panel. The hustings will take place at the Sutton Baptist Church at 2.30 pm on Saturday, June 29.
The full list of candidates standing in the Sutton and Cheam are as follows:
Aasha Anam – Green Party
Tom Drummond – Conservative and Unionist Party
Kingsley Action Man Hamilton – Independent
Ryan Powell – Reform UK
Chrishni Reshekaron – Labour Party
Luke Taylor – Liberal Democrats
