By Willis Bennett
November 22 2019, 14.45
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Fleur Anderson, Labour’s candidate for Putney, is looking to secure her party’s first win in the constituency since 2001.
The seat in Putney has been held by the Conservatives’ Justine Greening, former Secretary of State for Education, in each of the last four general elections.
But the electoral swing in both 2015 and 2017, -0.4% and -10.2%, respectively, suggests we could see a Putney power shift.
Fleur Anderson said: “I’m standing in Putney because its where I’m from.
“I’ve lived in Wandsworth for 25 years. I have 4 children, brought them up in local schools, and I want to represent my home area.
“I also work here in a community centre; I know lots about the area.
“Coming up to the election, lots of people urged me to stand because of this. I’m a local campaigner.
“That’s the kind of MP I want to be – I want to be taking the issues that got me fired up and involved in local politics; and that was children centres.
“I am a bit of a bolshy person, so when I see something going wrong that I think I could change, I try to step in.
“There are lots of elements of our community here in Putney, Roehampton and Southfields that could be a lot better and I want to stand up for local people just like myself.”
Ms Anderson has been campaigning for more than a year and explained she could sense just how close the voting is in her constituency – it was just 1,554 votes that separated the Conservatives and Labour in the last general election.
Ms Anderson acknowledged micro-issues that had arisen when speaking with residents on their doorstops, as well as the macro-ecopolitical issues of Brexit, the climate emergency and the NHS.
Ms Anderson said: “I will vote remain in all circumstances and I want to see a people’s vote.
“As for the NHS, we have a choice facing us: do we want more privatisation under the Conservatives or more funding, more doctors and free prescriptions under Labour?
“I’m an environmental campaigner and have worked around the world on environmental issues. Cleaning up our air on Putney High Street and around our schools, in particular, is something I am championing.
“Housing is a big issue for our people.
“From not enough social or affordable housing to insecure rental conditions.”
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