A founding member of the Keep Our St Helier Hospital (KOSHH) campaign has thrown his hat into the ring, and will try and unseat the Sutton and Cheam MP Paul Burstow in next year’s general election.

David Ash feels Mr Burstow has voted for bills that threaten services at the Epsom and St Helier Hospital.

He also believes one of the reasons the Lib Dem MP set up a petition in support of the hospital, could be so he can collect people’s personal details.

Mr Ash, who works as a technical manager for an electronics manufacturer, said: "I think he has a lot to answer for.

"Despite publicly backing the protection of services at the hospital, he has voted in favour of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, and Clause 119 of the Government’s Care Bill.

"I am no lawyer or barrister myself, but there are some clauses in those bills which could hurt services and quality at Epsom and St Helier.

Mr Ash, who is father to a seven-year-old and two-year-old daughter, is yet to lay out a campaign strategy, but says it will focus largely on speaking to people to find out their views on the hospital.

The 37-year-old who lives with his family in Cheam, has vowed to throw everything he has got into winning the election and is confident he can make an impact.

He is standing as a member of the National Health Action Party (NHA), which was launched at the end of 2012. 

The party was set up by doctors, nurses, health workers, and ordinary people, in protest at the cooalition government's NHS reforms, and the threat of privatisation.

When asked if he has the capacity to deal with local issues outside of threats to hospital, he said: "No MP has experience of being an MP until they have been an MP.

"I am running because I want to bring in changes that will benefit Sutton and Cheam.

"As a human being I really care about the NHS. 

"It is inevitable that one day I will need it, or my family will need it, so I want to fight to protect it."

Mr Ash will go toe-to-toe with the Liberal Democrat MP for Sutton and Cheam Paul Burstow, Conservative Party candidate Paul Scully, and the Labour Party candidate Emily Brothers, in the general election on May 7 next year.