Residents will vote for a Newington ward councillor tomorrow (Thursday June 29) after previous Labour representative Alice Macdonald resigned to focus on her bid to become MP for Norwich North.
Labour candidate Youcef Hassaine is expected to win the safe seat but faces competition from the Liberal Democrat, Green and Conservative parties.
Votes will be taken between 7am and 10pm at several polling stations around Newington ward in Kennington.
Labour candidates took 65 per cent of the vote in the 2022 Local Elections. It has held the seat since 2010 when it took control back from the Lib Dems.
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The candidates jostling for supremacy this time are Ruben Buendia for the Greens, Vikas Aggarwal for the Lib Dems and Lewis Jones for the Conservatives.
Aged just nineteen, Ruben is the youngest candidate on the ballot. He moved to Peckham in 2018 from the Canary Islands in 2018 before settling in Bermondsey and then Elephant and Castle.
He has pledged to fight for more social housing and against what he has reportedly said are unaffordable regeneration schemes.
Referring to the Elephant and Castle regeneration, the Green candidate reportedly said: “It’s tragic, the shopping centre and the people who made the Elephant what it is are being displaced.”
Conservative candidate Lewis Jones has pledged to “work tirelessly to ensure that housing issues are resolved swiftly”.
In an online statement, he said “unlike others, I won’t have to follow a party line” and that tackling crime was a key priority.
Lib Dem candidate Vikkas Aggarwal used to be a UK diplomat but left after Brexit. “I felt I could no longer work for this Government which was so intent on damaging the UK and its reputation,” he said.
The local resident and magistrate said: “I recognise the need for strong liberal leadership to promote good opportunities for local people to thrive, to protect the environment for future generations, and to bring positive and sustainable investment into the community.”
The polling stations are as follows:
Newington Estate TA Hall, 77 Canterbury Place, Newington Estate, SE17 3AD
Keyworth Primary School, Faunce Street, SE17 3TR
Surrey Gardens Memorial Hall, Penrose Street, SE17 3DW
Brandon 3 Senior Citizen Hall, Grimsell Path, SE5 0TB
Brandon Library, 17 Maddock Way, SE17 3NH
