GENERAL ELECTION 2015: Meet your candidates in Reigate and Banstead

Traditionally regarded as a safe Conservative seat, Conservative Crispin Blunt has been Reigate MP since 1997 and won more than 53 per cent of the vote in the last election. 

This year, he is are going head-to-head with Liberal Democrat, Labour, Green party and UKIP candidates. 

Crispin Blunt, 54, Conservative 

Reigate’s MP since 1997, Mr Blunt came out publicly as gay in 2010 and won a battle for re-selection as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for May’s election. As Prisons Minister until 2012 under the coalition Government, Mr Blunt managed the passage of an act that criminalised squatting. 

Personal statement: I want to defend the quality of life of all those who live in the constituency and do my utmost to serve the people in Parliament, taking up their concerns, assisting them when they need help and make the case for Conservative policies that will raise the prosperity and security of the constituency and country. I want to enhance and build up our great schools, sports and cultural facilities and ensure that the character of our towns and precious open spaces are protected. This means managing the strain that local economic demand places on our environment and social and capital infrastructure. I will continue to fight to constrain housing numbers and use our precious greenbelt protection, while battling to improve local infrastructure, so it can sustain the load being placed on it. I will continue to oppose Gatwick expansion and will champion the concerns of rail users. I am campaigning for Redhill, Reigate, Merstham, Earlswood and Salfords to be moved into Zone 6.

• What is your motto/philosophy for life? ‘Never give in, never, never, never’ (Churchill)
• Which person, dead or alive, do you most admire? The Duke of Wellington, hero of Waterloo, one of the greatest military commanders of all time and twice Tory Prime Minister.
• What is your greatest fear? A Labour Government, propped up by the SNP, destroying the economic recovery.
• What trait do you most admire in others? Free thinking.
• What’s the worst job you’ve ever done? Cleaning caravans and selling petrol.
• What do you consider your greatest achievement? As a Minister, I managed the passage through Parliament of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.  This criminalised squatting in people’s homes and abolished Indeterminate Sentences for Public Protection.  I am also proud of enabling more restorative justice and work in prisons. Whilst legislation needs one’s government colleagues and a majority in Parliament to agree, I hope I can claim these measures would not have happened without my personal commitment.  However, I could never have done these, or anything else I have pursued in Parliament, if I had not been elected and re-elected three times as MP for Reigate.  So that must be my greatest achievement.
• Everyone has a skeleton in their closet. What’s yours? Skeletons are usually in a closet for a reason. That’s where any I might have are going to stay.
• As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? A soldier, which I became…
• What do you eat for breakfast? Eggs and bacon, usually. An English breakfast is one of our finer gifts to global cuisine.
• What do you love / hate most about your proposed constituency? Reigate has the best of both worlds with the countryside and the vibrancy of London on the door step.  It has a wonderful quality of life locally with access to a wide range of jobs and global amenities in London. But connectivity can also be the greatest challenge and I hate the fact that frequently disrupted, overcrowded and delayed rail services are making commuters’ lives a misery whilst, at the same time, commuters are paying premium prices for season tickets. Hence my campaign for a fair deal on fares for rail users.
• What is first on your list to change / do if elected? Put a stop to plans by Gatwick Airport to build a second runway, which would have a serious negative impact on the area in terms of additional noise pollution, pressure on the Brighton Mainline, and strains on housing and services as tens of thousands of workers would have to move into the region to work at an airport that would become bigger than Heathrow.
• What’s your favourite TV programme? The cricket, when it’s on.

Anna Tarrant, 41, Liberal Democrat 

A lifelong Reigate resident, Mrs Tarrant teaches part-time and acts as the Liberal Democrat party organiser for the south east. The former probation officer used to work with the youth justice team and was a councillor on Reigate and Banstead Council from 2008 to 2012. 

Personal statement: I have lived in Reigate all my life and I love this area. I greatly appreciate all the fantastic things it has to offer. I also understand the problems which need to be addressed. I want to make sure we have affordable housing, we properly support people with mental health issues and parents can feed their children. Education is also very important to me. In particular, I want to see better provision for children with learning difficulties and disabilities. The Liberal Democrats have made a very considerable contribution to maintaining the stability of the coalition Government over the past five years, thereby helping in no small measure to put the economy back on track. This would not have happened without us.

• What is your motto/philosophy for life? To treat others as I would expect to be treated and to find a way to make things better for people who are disadvantaged in any way. 
• Which person, dead or alive, do you most admire? Nelson Mandela for never giving up his fight for freedom and justice. 
• What is your greatest fear? Anything which is a threat to my children or other peoples’ children
• What trait do you most admire in others? Reliability, doing what they say they will do
• What’s the worst job you’ve ever done? Stuffing envelopes all day long as a student to earn some extra money.
• What do you consider your greatest achievement? Static line parachute jumping from 2,000 feet to raise money for the charity MIND. 
• Everyone has a skeleton in their closet. What’s yours? Eating my brother’s Easter egg and blaming the dog. 
• As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? An author like Enid Blyton as I loved the famous five books 
• What do you eat for breakfast? Toast and marmite
• What do you love / hate most about your proposed constituency? I love our parks and open spaces.  I hate that inflated house prices which are forcing my friends and young people out of the area. 
• What is first on your list to change / do if elected? There are two things I would do, first find more money for CAMHS so we can offer the service to more people who need it and secondly look at putting more equipment in our parks and play areas for young people with disabilities. 
• What’s your favourite TV programme? Law and Order

Ali Aklakul, 38, Labour 

Mr Aklakul was born in Britain to Bangladeshi parents and has worked in the restaurant trade for more than 20 years. The unmarried man from Luton has been a member of the Labour Part since 2010 and standing for election for the first time. 

Personal statement: I became involved in politics because I want to make a positive contribution to our country, in particular I want to see a Government that makes Britain a fairer and more equitable place for all. Reigate is surrounded by the beautiful North Downs countryside. There is a good community spirit and the area experiences relatively low levels of antisocial behaviour and crime. However, it does face considerable challenges. In my opinion among the most pressing issues are:

• The lack of affordable homes, particularly for families with young children – if elected Labour has pledged to build an additional 200,000 more homes in the UK every year by 2020.
• Traffic congestion and parking that causes considerable problems to residents and businesses – I believe improved integration of public transport would help reduce dependency on car travel.
• Encroachment on the greenbelt – more effort must be made to use land outside the greenbelt for development.
• And finally, the lack of school places. Many students are unable to attend their nearest school because it is over-subscribed – Labour would ensure funds are available to build new schools in areas where there are a shortage of places.

• What is your motto/philosophy for life? Be happy with what you have, be modest and humble and most of all be honest as this is how you will be judged when you leave this world.
• Which person, dead or alive, do you most admire? Mahatma Gandhi.
• What is your greatest fear? Another 5 years of this unfair government and the effects of the draconian cuts on the People, Country and Economy.
• What trait do you most admire in others? I admire and respect people who are honest; a person's character depends on his integrity.
• What’s the worst job you’ve ever done? I love my job as this is what I have been doing since I left school
• What do you consider your greatest achievement? The achievement I am proudest of is being selected as the Labour Party parliamentary candidate for the Reigate and Banstead constituency.
• Everyone has a skeleton in their closet. What’s yours? I am a very shy person.
• As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a footballer but I ended up in the catering industry.
• What do you eat for breakfast? I only have a cup of tea for breakfast
• What do you love / hate most about your proposed constituency? I love the beautiful countryside around the Constituency and the people, who have been very welcoming. The most annoying thing is the train journeys with delays and cancellations every time I commute here.
• What is first on your list to change / do if elected? Address the cost of living crisis by increasing the minimum wage and introducing a starting rate of tax of £10/£. I would also scrap the unfair bedroom tax and stop privatisation of public services, particularly in the NHS.
• What’s your favourite TV programme? Match of the Day, Eastenders, I also enjoy watching the news.

Joseph Fox, 66, UKIP

Mr Fox has stood for UKIP 20 times in borough, council and general elections within the consituency of Reigate. The care worker has lived in Redgill for 44 years and has four children and three grandchildren.

Personal statement: We want our country back. Ever since we joined what was misleadingly called the Common Market in 1973, our democracy and sovereignty has ebbed away. Or should I say it has been stolen. Those who took us in, took us in. They lied through their teeth about the consequences of joining the ever closer union. Outside the EU, we would regain control of our fisheries, our agricultural policy, our ability to sign trade agreements, and much, much more.

• What is your motto/philosophy for life? Keep calm and carry on
• Which person, dead or alive, do you most admire? Sir John Betjeman or Humphrey Bogart
• What is your greatest fear? Leaving things undone that I ought to have done
• What trait do you most admire in others? Honesty
• What’s the worst job you’ve ever done? Minding an injection-moulding machine
• What do you consider your greatest achievement? Bringing up my family
• Everyone has a skeleton in their closet. What’s yours? Who, me?
• As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? A subamriner
• What do you eat for breakfast? Two cups of coffee
• What do you love / hate most about your proposed constituency? The view from the hill, the traffic when the M25 is shut down
• What is first on your list to change / do if elected? Stop the mad rush to build n the Green Belt
• What’s your favourite TV programme? Top gear, QI

Jonathan Essex, 42, Green

Mr Essex, who is a councillor on both the borough and county councils, is standing for Parliament in the constituency for a second time. The chartered engineer grew up in Devon, studied at Durham University and moved to Redhill where he works and sits on the board of local charities. 

Personal statement: We need a mature politics that works to rebalance the UK economy so everyone gets a fair share, while protecting the Surrey countryside we love. Greens propose a clear strategy to reduce inequality by creating decently-paid jobs across the UK: reducing climate impact, while creating stronger local economies. I pledge to:

• Keep our NHS public, including East Surrey and Epsom hospitals. Re-nationalise rail fran- chises to redirect shareholder profits into improved services and reduced rail fares.
• Instead of financing new incinerators, to properly invest in reuse and recycling.
• Avoid further welfare cuts by not renewing Trident and addressing tax avoidance, giving us £35bn a year.
• Invest in new jobs and affordable homes across the UK: retrofitting empty ho-mes, renewable energy and adult social care. Expand childcare, not close Earlswood’s Sure Start centre.
• Protect our greenbelt and oppose Gatwick expansion.

• What is your motto/philosophy for life? To be the change you want to see in the world. Unless you live with integrity, and match championing rights with acting with more responsibility ourselves, then a better life is always another want away. I believe we need to shift from a politics of ‘what’s in it for me’ to choose instead a politics that stands up for ‘what is better for everyone.’
• Which person, dead or alive, do you most admire? I recently watched Selma in Reigate cinema: a film about Martin Luther King. I admire his commitment to change beyond what was seen as possible at that time, while committing to it through peaceful means. He said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
• What is your greatest fear? I used to fear the impacts of climate change, particularly for Bangladesh, where I lived for a year. My passion and drive comes from a real concern about what will happen if we carry on failing to sufficiently respond to this challenge - first for vulnerable communities in places like Bangladesh and Africa, but ultimately the future we have all borrowed from our children. This requires us to go beyond business-and-politics-as-usual. That is why we need a politics of hope. So my greatest fear is apathy.
• What trait do you most admire in others? Empathy. Unless we can inspire action, without expecting anything in return, then it is hard to see us making decisions that are better not just for ourselves, here in Reigate, but everywhere, including those who need more support such as those who rely on the NHS, who are made homeless and require care to live a full life.
• What’s the worst job you’ve ever done? Trying to find someone who was lost while helping run an orienteering event in a forest, near where I grew up in Devon. Thankfully we found them a few hours later ...
• What do you consider your greatest achievement? Marrying Fiona. She said yes! But also being elected as a Councillor in Redhill, first for the Borough Council in 2010 and then three years later for the County as well – the first Green in both cases.
• Everyone has a skeleton in their closet. What’s yours? I have a lot of odd socks in the closet. I think I believe in sock heaven too.
• As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? A vet or a zoo Keeper. Then I wanted to stop the countryside and rainforests being destroyed, so I qualified as an engineer to change construction for the better. In Redhill and Reigate this includes challenging building on the Green Belt, while ensuring that we provide housing that is needed, such as those affordable enough for families growing up in the Reigate Constituency today.
• What do you eat for breakfast? Toast. I can’t face porridge first thing.
• What do you love / hate most about your proposed constituency? What I love about living in this part of Surrey is the links to our countryside and the many groups that together make our communities so strong and diverse.
• What is first on your list to change / do if elected? I pledge to work to rebalance our housing market to give all the right to a home while ensuring our countryside is properly protected. I would support calls for an independent rent commission while ensuring our greenbelt protection is reinforced again.
• What’s your favourite TV programme? It would be a tie-up between Monty Python and Match of the Day.

For more General Election 2015 coverage visit www.epsomguardian.co.uk/generalelection2015