On Thursday 29th November the constituents of Croydon North went to the polls to vote in a parliamentary by-election. Although Labour secured a comfortable hold, there was huge success for Green Party candidate Shasha Khan who polled the Green Party’s highest ever result in the constituency.
The by-election was triggered by the death of the sitting MP Malcolm Wicks who had served the constituency since 1997. Since then the constituency has been a strong Labour safe seat. Shasha Khan has previously been the Green Party candidate in the constiuency in both the 2005 and 2010 elections – securing 2% of the vote in the most recent election in 2010.
Shasha has been a tireless community campaigner – something which has earned him the title of “The Green Knight”. Shasha lived up to his title in the recent by-election by campaigning on issues which matter most to the local community – including air quality and on helping young people into work.
Shasha’s consistent efforts to, as he has put it, “protect the weak and defenceless and fight for the general welfare of all” has helped him to raise the Green Party profile in Croydon North and build his own popularity amongst the constiuents. This undoubtedly helped in the vote on Thursday as he polled the Green Party’s highest ever result in the constiuency – 3.5%, 1.5% ahead of the result gained in 2010. This placed him 5th out of 13 candidates and just 5 votes behind the Liberal Democrats.
Shasha’s excellent showing in Croydon North was particularly impressive given that he was up against the financial power of Labour and Conservatives and also Lee Jasper of the Respect Party who was formerly the Senior Policy Advisor to Mayor of London Ken Livingstone. It was anticipated that Lee’s experience might lead to a strong showing for Respect in Croydon North but they ultimately finished 6th – behing Shasha.
The strong performance of Shasha and the Croydon Green Party – coming just a few months after the London Green Party finished 3rd in the Assembly Elections – is another important step in the development and progress of the Green Party in London.
Results in Full:
Turnout: 26.53%
1. Labour: Steve Reed – 15,892 votes (64.7% and +8.7% on 2010)
2. Conservative: Andrew Stranack – 4,137 votes (16.8% and -7.3% on 2010)
3. UKIP: Winston McKenzie – 1,400 votes (5.7% and +4.0% on 2010)
4. Liberal Democrat: Marisha Ray – 860 votes (3.5% and -10.5% on 2010)
5. Green Party: Shasha Khan – 855 votes (3.5% and +1.5% on 2010)
6. Respect: Lee Jasper – 707 votes (2.9% and +2.4% on 2010
7. Christian Peoples: Stephen Hammond – 192 votes (0.8% and N/A)
8. National Front: Richard Edmonds – 161 votes (0.7% and N/A)
9. Communist: Ben Stevenson – 119 votes (0.5% and 0.2% on 2010)
10. Monster Raving Loony: John Cartright – 110 votes (0.4% and N/A)
11. Nine Eleven Was An Inside Job: Simon Lane – 66 votes (0.3% and N/A)
12. Young People’s Party: Robin Smith – 63 votes (0.3% and N/A)