By Rhys Noye-Allen
December 10 2019, 14.30
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Politicians are often seen as slimy figures with their heads buried in the dirt, but one politician is happy to be described as a worm lover.
Simon Sprague has embraced worms as he tries to help tackle the climate emergency.
The Liberal Democrat candidate explained: “I live on the 14th floor of a block of flats but I have a wormery on my balcony because we don’t have food waste collections in my building.
“So all of my fruit and vegetable tracts go in the wormery and then they make me some nice compost and stuff that I can water my pot plants with.”
The Croydon Central candidate has also experimented with vegetarianism as he tries to do his bit for the environment.
He said: “I have been trying to eat much less meat and for lent this year I actually went vegetarian and cut out meat completely.
“I still like meat, but I think we all have a responsibility to think about where our food comes from and the environmental impact of that food.
“We are not going to solve the climate emergency without doing some really big things.
“But I also think it is important for people to do the small things right. It is not sufficient but, where possible, I try to do that kind of thing.”
While most people are desperate to take Brexit off the menu when it comes to politics, Mr Sprague did just the opposite.
The aspiring MP hosted a Brexit themed dinner party last year and titled the menu ‘the Remoaners Revenge’.
Mr Sprague cooks in his spare time and created a number of dishes which combined the best of Britain and Europe.
He made a Spanish omelette with parsnips instead of potatoes and baked a tiramisu with scones instead of the traditional lady fingers, a dish he named the ‘afternoon tea-rimisu’.
“I think I am probably quite traditional but maybe a little bit quirky, so I quite like the idea of fusion food,” he said.
“I feel very British and English and a Londoner, but I also feel European.”
Mr Sprague added that the key to reducing crime in Croydon could be helping young people find new ways to occupy themselves after school.
He said: “It is about fostering that sense of community that was there when I grew up in Croydon.”
Read more about what’s important to south west London constituencies in our 24-page General Election preview special.
