The candidates hoping to fill the vacant councillor position in Chaucer ward have been announced, following the controversial resignation of Labour councillor Claire Maugham last month.
Labour has chosen Helen Dennis, while William Houngbo was announced as the Liberal-Democrats’ candidate. Dean Conway will run for UKIP and Piers Corbyn will stand as an independent, although he is being endorsed by the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition.
Anti-poverty campaigner Dennis said she wanted “to work to improve local housing, create more jobs and apprenticeships, and get better transport links.” The Labour candidate added: “I will fight to support local people dealing with the Bedroom Tax that local Liberal Democrats have supported. And I will work to deliver a secondary school in the north of the borough.”
Houngbo, a ward resident in the Lawson Estate, said he was “honoured” to be standing for the Liberal Democrats and credited parliamentary candidate Simon Hughes as his “role model.”
He said: “With Simon, I am fighting for new jobs from building the Bakerloo Line extension down the New Kent Road, for affordable homes in every new development and for mental health to be given the same priority as physical health.”
Piers Corbyn, a former Labour councillor in Burgess ward and brother to Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn, announced he will run as an independent on an “anti-social cleansing” drive.
He said: “I’m running to get into the town hall and to stop the social cleansing in Southwark put forward by the atrocious, treacherous Labour council. Major parties offer nothing but lies. I am confident I can win, and I must say I have been astounded at the level of support.”
Security officer Dean Conway slammed the controversial nature of Claire Maugham’s resignation and the need for a by-election, which he said cost Southwark people £12,000.
He added: “I am delighted to offer Chaucer voters the chance to get a better, fairer deal from their local council representative than all the tired old political parties can offer after so much of their failure.”
The News exclusively revealed last month that Claire Maugham stepped down following fierce internal criticism from the Labour hierarchy, after her husband wrote a letter critical of the councils’ housing policy to the paper.
The deadline for candidates is today.