Christian Peoples Alliance fight by-election

The Christian Peoples Alliance (CPA) have announced an NHS worker as their Kingston by-election candidate.

Rajesh Dewan

Christian Peoples Alliance candidate

Rajesh Dewan, a resident of New Malden has over 20 years experience in Human Resources and is currently an HR Advisor for the Epsom & St Helier NHS Trust.

This is the fourth by-election fought by the Christian Peoples Alliance in the Royal Borough since local elections in 2010, when the party ran over 30 candidates for local and parliamentary elections. The by-elections in 2011 saw a swing in support in favour of the CPA.

Mr Dewan, who serves on the Elm Road Allotments Management Committee in New Malden, said he would be campaigning for a more sustainable and fairer economy:

"I will be speaking for the hard-pressed in Kingston. Not everyone in Coombe Hill is a high earner. The Conservative Chancellor proclaims that those earning over £150,000 respond to to wealth-generating incentives and thus deserve a big tax cut. But he thinks this doesn't apply to Kingston's aspiring middle classes.

"The number of residents paying 40p tax on income over £41,000 is to rise from 3 million under the last government to 5 million under George Osborne. Just below that are many Kingston residents who want to get on in life who will be hit by this creeping threshold."

Rajesh Dewan says that he is standing to promote the key principles behind the National Health Service, including being free at the point of need and equal access to services, regardless of ability to pay.

He says if elected, he will seek to use his professional insights to serve on Kingston Council's Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which exists to examine local health service provision and monitor the impact of health reforms on service users.