Croydon by-election to take place after death of councillor

By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Reporter

Following the death of a Croydon councillor, a by-election is set to take place in the Selsdon Vale and Forestdale ward.

Residents will elect a new representative on Thursday, November 3, after councillor Badsha Quadir died aged 64 on September 12.

He had been a councillor for 12 years after he was first elected to represent Purley in 2010.

There are five candidates up for election to replace Cllr Quadir in next month’s by-election. The candidates are:

Tom Bowell – Labour Party

Tom’s profile on the Labour Party’s website said he has family connections in Croydon going back a century. It said: “As a neurodivergent person, Tom is passionate about using his own lived experiences to improve the education experiences and wider life opportunities for people with special educational needs, particularly those on the autism spectrum.”

Andrew Pelling – Independent

Andrew was previously a Labour councillor for Waddon but is standing in the Selsdon Vale and Forestdale ward as an independent candidate. Pelling has been a Croydon politician for 40 years, first as a Conservative, including five years as an MP for Croydon Central. He stood as an independent candidate for the first time in the mayoral election in May.

Peter Underwood – Green Party

Peter, who has lived in Selsdon for 20 years said: “I live locally and I am already involved in working to improve our area. I will stand up to defend our precious green spaces from the new threats to build on them, and carry on working to make Selsdon Vale and Forestdale a happier place to live and somewhere we can be proud of.”

Fatima Zaman – Conservative Party

Fatima has lived in Croydon for the past 30 years. Her profile on the Croydon Conservatives website said: “Her main priority is to focus on reducing crime and making Croydon a safer place for all. She particularly wishes to prioritise women’s safety. ”

George Holland – Liberal Democrats

George grew up in South Croydon and left Coulsdon Sixth Form College last year.  He said: “Having grown up in the area I know and understand the local issues such as bin collection, transport, crime and lack of amenities, and I feel very passionate about making a positive difference in the community.”

On the day of the election, voting will take place at four polling stations in the ward from 7am-10pm. The election count will be held on Friday, November 4 with results announced as soon as they are available.

Pictured top: Badsha Quadir was a Croydon councillor for 12 years and was deputy mayor in 2013 (Picture: Croydon council)