The gloves are finally off for the battle of the polls at the General election in the East End with all 18 candidates now declared for both Westminster Parliamentary seats in Tower Hamlets.
Deadline closed last night at Tower Hamlets town hall for candidates in Bethnal Green & Bow and its neighbouring Polar & Limehouse constituencies.
Voting is split 11 ways in highly-contested Bethnal Green & Bow as Labour’s Rushanara Ali takes on 10 rivals in her bid to retain the seat she won in 2010.
She faces challenges from Tories and Ukip on the right, to trade union socialists on the left, and a pool of rivals in the middle ground such as Lib-Dems, Whigs who historically became the Liberal Party, Greens, Anti-corruption and a candidate promoting cannabis being better than booze.
Rushanara’s Labour colleague Jim Fitzpatrick faces a more concentrated challenge in Poplar & Limehouse next door with six contenders, Tories and Ukip on the right, trade union socialists on the left and middle ground challenged by Lib-Dems, Greens and anti-corruption.
The May 7 election sees two candidates on an anti-corruption ticket following the recent High Court battle over allegations of election fraud in last year’s Tower Hamlets election for mayor, where four “citizen voters” are calling for the results to be overturned.
They’ve taken their fight into the general election arena with Jason Pavlou and Rene Magenzi running for the Red Flag Anti-Corruption party.
Trade unionists Glyn Robbins, one-time party activist for Respect’s former East End MP George Galloway, joins the fray alongside Hugo Pierre for the TU Socialist Coalition, fighting for jobs, social housing and the NHS.
Lib Dems’ Teena Lashmore Elaine Bagshaw are targeting the middle ground while Ukip’s Paula and Nicholas McQueen are after anti-EU votes.
The Greens are fielding Alistair Polson and Maureen Childs for a mandate against pollution, while Conservatives are putting up Matt Smith and Chris Wilford for a Tory mandate to take Westminster after the Coalition.
Three independents joining the big fight are M Rowshan Ali, Jonathan Berry and Alasdair Henderson.
Some parties have already set their campaigns in motion, while others are yet to launch—all determined to win the hearts, minds and votes of the people of the East End.
The 11 candidates for Bethnal Green & Bow in alphabetical order are:
M Rowshan Ali (Communities United)
Rushanara Ali (Labour)
Elliot Ball (30-50 Coalition)
Jonathan Berry (Cannabis is Safer than Alcohol)
Alasdair Iain Henderson (Whig)
Teena Lashmore (Liberal Democrats)
Paula McQueen (UK Independence)
Jason Andrew Pavlou (Red Flag Anti-Corruption)
Alistair Polson (Green)
Glyn Robbins (Left Unity Trade Unionists & Socialists)
Matt Smith (Conservative)
The seven candidates for Poplar & Limehouse in alphabetical order are:
Elaine Bagshaw (Liberal Democrats)
Maureen Childs (Green)
Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour)
Rene Magenzi (Red Flag Anti-Corruption)
Nicholas McQueen (UK Independence)
Hugo Pierre (Left Unity Trade Unionists & Socialists)
Chris Wilford (Conservative)
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