Croydon Central has a new MP, with Gavin Barwell winning from Labour's Gerry Ryan with a majority of 2,969.
In his acceptance speech, Gavin said "I would like to thank everyone who has put their trust in me today and pledge to do my very best to provide a strong voice for Croydon in Parliament, to fight for more police on our streets, against plans to downgrade our local hospital, for a fair deal for Council Taxpayers, for improvements to our public transport system and against the crazy decision that all in-country asylum applications have to be made here. I’ve lived in Croydon virtually my whole life, I’ve chosen to raise my family here, it’s a great place but it can be so much better still.
"I’d like to pay tribute to the other candidates at this election, who with one notable exception are in politics for the right reasons. In particular, can I single out my predecessor, Andrew Pelling. Andrew has served both this town and the Conservative Party with distinction over a number of years and it is a matter of deep regret that that service should end in this way.
"I haven’t won this evening because people have decided they would prefer me to Andrew as their MP. I have won because the people of Croydon Central want a change of government; because thanks to David Cameron’s leadership they are now prepared to look to the Conservative Party to provide that change; because the people of Croydon have seen things change for the better since we took control of Croydon Council four years ago and that gives them confidence that we can do the same nationally; and because unlike the other parties we campaign throughout the whole constituency all year round not just at election time."
The full results were:
Gavin Barwell Conservative 19,657
Gerry Ryan Labour 16,688
Peter Lambell Liberal Democrat 6,553
Andrew Pelling Independent 3,239
Cliff Le May British National Party 1,448
Ralph Atkinson UK Independence Party 997
Bernice Golberg Green 581
James Gitau Christian Party 264
John Cartwright Monster Raving Loony Party 192
Michael Castle Independent 138
Majority 2,969
Turnout 49,757 63.1%
Please do contact us with any issues or concerns you may have. We answer all our constituents' correspondence and value your comments. If you want your concern addressed by your local team, please follow the link above.
