Wandsworth general election 2015: Putney's candidates trying to shake the Tory stronghold

The scenic riverbank is where the annual Oxford and Cambridge boat race kicks off.

It also has the Alton Estate, in Roehampton, which is due to undergo regeneration.

The area is also home to a large number of students attending the University of Roehampton.

We ask:

1. Name one thing you will proactively change in the borough if you are elected
2. What has been your proudest achievement within your constituency in the last three years?
3. What sets you apart from your fellow prospective parliamentary candidates?
4. What has been the most difficult conversation you have had while canvassing?
5. Why should people vote for you?​

To find out about Battersea's parliamentary candidates read our coverage here.

Or if you want to learn about candidates running in the south of the borough, Tooting, visit our coverage here. 

Justine Greening, Conservative

Justine was born in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. She attended her local comprehensive school and studied economics at Southampton University. She has an MBA and worked in business before being elected as MP for Putney, Roehampton and Southfields in 2005.

Justine is currently Secretary of State for International Development and has previously been Secretary of State for Transport and Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

1. I want to make sure we get the extra carriages for the South West Trains service, and the signalling upgrade on the District line service, so both our Tube and train services can give the service our local commuters need. We have already seen investment in Putney station, Southfields station and now East Putney station, but getting more capacity is vital.

2. Finally getting the investment into Putney station that it needs and making it accessible to a lot more people with passenger lifts. It’s been a very disruptive project, but one constituent who works with disabled people said the lift was a godsend to help people like her use the public transport system we all rely on to get around.

3. I’ve worked hard with our community on the issues that matter to us for over 10 years, and I’ve helped thousands of residents with individual issues that they care about - many have come to my weekly MP surgery. Rather than just complaining about issues, I work hard to get them positively sorted out, and I often succeed.

4. Having to ask a resident who’d answered the door having just got out of the shower only wearing a pair of boxers, if it was a good time to talk. He said it was, and who was I to argue?

5. I’ve listened to local residents, taken our priorities in Putney, Roehampton and Southfields and made sure I work on them as our local MP. I’ve got a track record of successfully standing up for residents, whether on Heathrow or stopping the Thames Tunnel drive shaft at Barn Elms. I will keep working hard for us.

4. Having to ask a resident who’d answered the door having just got out of the shower only wearing a pair of boxers, if it was a good time to talk.  He said it was, and who was I to argue.

5. I’ve listened to local residents, taken our priorities in Putney, Roehampton and Southfields and made sure I work on them as our local MP.  I’ve got a track record of successfully standing up for residents, whether on Heathrow or stopping the Thames Tunnel drive shaft at Barn Elms. I will keep working hard for us. 

Sheila Boswell, Labour

I have lived in Wandsworth for over 20 years and brought my son up here. I know what it’s like to manage a tight budget with only one income coming in and how tough it can be to cover the cost of the weekly shop and pay the bills.

I have been a local Labour councillor on Wandsworth Council where I was known as a formidable community advocate campaigning against cuts to vital children’s services. I spoke out about the looming shortage of primary school places across Putney, caused by the council selling off school buildings and land to developers, and establishing free schools in places where they are not needed.

1. I would fight for more and better quality social and affordable housing in Wandsworth for first time buyers and residents on our housing waiting lists. Labour would end the scandal of new housing developments being sold first off plan to overseas buyers, and introduce the biggest housing building programme for a generation with priority and zero stamp duty for many first-time buyers.

2. As a Labour councillor getting free swimming reinstated for five to 16-year-olds over summer half term 2012. Over 5,000 children swam for free that week, including many hundreds at Putney Leisure Centre. Takings were up at the borough’s pools due to the increase in paying adults accompanying children - a great example of a Labour policy that worked for everyone.

3. I worked for many years at Save the Children and Oxfam GB and have seen hardship and human suffering up close, I brought my son up as single mum I know how tough it can be to make ends meet, and I have run my own small business. I believe this makes me the candidate with an exceptional breadth of life experience to take to Westminster.

4. I love canvassing, being out on the doorsteps talking to people and hearing what they have to say; the most difficult conversation I have regularly is about how people are struggling to make ends meet because of the bedroom tax. Many residents are forced to use Wandsworth Food Bank for household necessities. Labour will scrap the Bedroom Tax if elected on May 7.

5. I would fight hard for fairer rents and more affordable family sized homes. I would campaign with our local community to bring to an end the dangerously high levels of pollution on Putney High Street. As your MP I would do everything in my power, and work with who ever it takes to get the bus station on Chelverton Rd, moved away from the High Sreet in a bid to improve our local air quality.

Guy Dessoy, Animal Welfare Party (AWP)

My background is in engineering with a focus on electronics and computer technology. I’ve worked in large and small organisations and I have extensive experience of living and working in other countries. I’m also involved in voluntary work. I love big cities, countryside and wilderness. I like eating healthily, I’m inspired by nature, I enjoy hiking and snowboarding, and I’m a member of Vegan Runners UK - a UK-wide running club.

1. I would seek to improve air pollution on Putney High Street.

2. My proudest achievement in Putney has been standing as the AWP candidate, giving the people of Putney the opportunity to show they support a fairer society in which the needs of people, the environment and animals are balanced. AWP is only standing in four constituencies in the general election. We chose Putney as one of them, as we believe the people of Putney are open-minded, forward-thinking and ready to lead the way in the change needed in these areas. 

3. I’m the only candidate standing to be a dedicated representative for animals in Parliament. The Netherlands, Germany, Portugal and Australia have now already achieved this and, given our long and proud history of animal protection here in the UK, I feel we’re now lagging behind. I also believe I’m the only candidate really addressing one of the major contributors to environmental degradation and climate change –  which is the livestock sector. Animal welfare and climate change often slide to the bottom of the political agenda, but having AWP members in Parliament would be a step towards preventing that.

4. People sometimes think that it's necessary to chose between caring about people or caring about animals - that the two are somehow mutually exclusive concerns. I wholeheartedly believe that they aren't and that AWP's policies are designed to create a world in which everyone - people, plant and animals benefit. AWP would like to see a EU subsidies redirected away from livestock and fisheries farming and into plant-based agriculture, for example.

5. I care passionately about people, the environment and animals. AWP is the only party that puts animal welfare at the heart of its policies. We also believe we're also the only party to take environmental destruction, resource consumption and climate change seriously by connecting it with the livestock sector, which is a major contributor.

Chris Poole, Green Party

I have lived in Putney since 2010 and have worked in London as a teacher and auditor. I am currently a stay-at-home dad for my one-year-old daughter.

I'm a member of the Greens because I want a more equal society and I see the need for politicians to take climate change far more seriously. In my spare time I volunteer as a trustee for the Wandsworth Citizens Advice Bureau.

1. I'll be a champion for active travel - walking and cycling - throughout the borough, and would aim to make a positive change in levels of both. A big part of this would be to make Wandsworth a 20mph borough by default on all streets where people live, work and shop.

2. Standing for election as a councillor last year and beating both the Lib Dems and Ukip.

3. I'm the candidate who highlights connections - that the Green Party approach to transport, housing, education and the economy would create a healthier society, saving the NHS a huge amount. Greens are not thinking on a five-year scale like the other parties; we try to take the long view.

4. I was talked at for 15 mins by someone who felt that poor people were essentially lazy - then had the door shut on me before I could respond. Greens want to stick up for the poorest in our society and there is far too much demonisation like this around.

5. I try to live by what I believe and stick to my principles. Caroline Lucas has achieved so much as a Green MP - the UK deserves more Green voices in Parliament, as we have a long-term and positive approach to solving the problems of our age.

Tricia Ward, Ukip 

As Ukip's Putney candidate, I aim to improve quality of life for all constituents with the help of some of the billions of taxpayer pounds currently absorbed by the EU.

Annulling EU membership will save money needed for UK public services and infrastructure, and allow the UK to trade more competitively globally. As a prime market for EU goods, the UK does not need EU membership to gain a trade deal that benefits all concerned.

1. Reduce local crime and related pressure on policing and prisons. Our current acceptance of the ‘free movement of people’ means we are unable to prevent criminals arriving here. Meanwhile cuts to policing have gone too far. Ukip is committed to returning to meaningful policing. We will introduce fast-track foreign criminal deportation.

2. In our constituency, I initiated our local Neighbourhood Watch because of the distress crime and anti-social behaviour continues to cause. Additionally, I have always worked for the political party that I thought best represented constituents' interests. I have done this as a volunteer in my very limited free time. I have funded my own election campaign because I believe only Ukip truly represents the best way forward for all constituents and Britain.

3. I have considerable experience as journalist and teacher at home and overseas. Both roles have made me aware of diverse concerns of different members of the public. My studies and work abroad have allowed me to compare our system of government and public services with those of other countries, and see what could be improved and how.

4. I've not had any difficult conversations. People like Ukip's honesty, realistic views and down-to-earth approach.

5. Because only Ukip can take us out of the autocratic, expensive and wasteful EU, deliver an employment-friendly environment, more appropriate education, take pressure off housing and increase funding for public services.

The questions were also sent to the Liberal Democrat candidate Andy Hallett, but unfortunately a reply was not received before the paper went to press.