The full list of candidates for the upcoming council elections has been released - and it includes everything from a brand new party to a former National Front man.

More than 150 people will stand for election on the 54 seats available on Sutton Council on May 5.

Among them are some familiar faces - including long-serving councillors like Liberal Democrat Council leader Ruth Dombey, her Conservative opposite number Graham Witham and Sutton's only Labour Councillor John Keys.

There are some notable names not on the list, like disgraced former Liberal Democrat Councillor Stephen Fenwick, who was convicted of racially aggravated assault earlier this year, and former MP Graham Tope.

One name on the list that could stand out is that of Worcester Park candidate Richard Edmonds. Mr Edmonds is standing as a independent but has previously represented far-right parties the National Front and the British National Party.

The National Front announced it would not be authorising any candidates for this year's council elections earlier this year. 

Mr Edmonds stood for the National Front in the 2012 Croydon North parliamentary election but polled just 161 votes, less than one per cent of the turnout.

Four candidates are representing a brand new party - the Keep Our St Helier Hospital (KOSHH) Party. The party is focused on defending services at St Helier Hospital from the threat of Government cuts.

Richard Broadbent is standing for the Lliberal Democrats in Nonsuch. He may be a familiar name to longer serving-residents as he was on the council until 1995 but resigned triggering a by-election.

Sutton Council has been Liberal Democrat run with a predominantly Conservative opposition since the 80s.

At the moment there are 41 Liberal Democrats with 11 Conservative members, one Labour party member and the newly independent Coun Fenwick.

But the UK Independence Party (UKIP) is fielding more candidates than ever before in the hope of getting its first councillor in the borough while the Labour party also has an increased number of candidates compared to previous years.

For a full list of the candidates, visit https://www.sutton.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=23627&p=0


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