Voters in Forest Gate North are today electing a new councillor for the ward and John Oxley is the Conservative Party candidate. John says:

I am standing to be your councillor because I believe Forest Gate needs a strong and independent voice on the council. I have lived in Newham for four years and want to give back to the community that has given me so much. Whether or not you normally vote Conservative, I will stick up for you over the Mayor.

If elected I will campaign for:

• better cycling facilities including the introduction of "Boris Bikes" to Forest Gate
• the village to become a conservation area
• the creation of Parish Councils to improve local decision making
• a fresh approach to street environment issues
• zero-tolerance of anti-social behaviour and return of community pride
• better planning around public transport

I hope I can count on your support.

Cycling

I cycle to work every day and I'm acutely aware of how much better Newham could be for cyclists. I will campaign for "Boris Bikes" to be introduced in Forest Gate, for on-street secure cycle storage and for junction improvements to make cycling safer and more attractive to residents.

Conservation

Forest Gate is a unique part of London and it's essential that we prevent it being turned into a buy-to-let centre which will just make it more difficult for first time buyers to get on the housing ladder and put further pressure on our road network and infrastructure. I will campaign for the village to become a conservation area.

Democratic Accountability

Every councillor is Labour, the Mayor of Newham is Labour, both Newham MPs are Labour and even the Mayor of London is Labour. Even Labour voters know that 100% single party dominance is not a healthy position for accountability. I support the creation of Parish Councils because they bring power closer to the people and I believe Forest Gate is a natural area that would benefit from more localism.

Street Environment

Broken paving stones, road humps that damage the underside of cars, poor recycling facilities, wheelie-bins cluttering up pavements, fly tipping; all things that make the area look and feel uncared for and unloved. I want to tackle our street environment issues head-on and support those who want to make the area, clean, well maintained and accessible to all.

Anti-Social Behaviour

We should have pride in our community, but a minority of people too easily ruin things for the rest of us with graffiti, car horns late at night, speeding, bad parking, not clearing up dog mess. When anti-social behaviour gets out of hand, crime increases in the back of it. By returning a sense of community pride we can have a zero-tolerance approach to anti-social behaviour. Newham Council already fines more people for spitting than every other council in the country combined, and they should take a similar approach to dog mess.

Public Transport

Poor planning has often led to multiple line closures at the same time and roads clogged heavily, making life miserable for all. With London Overground currently closed for electrification there must be an emphasis on our remaining vital transport links. I will lobby the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to stagger rail maintenance work to lessen the impact on residents.

The polls are open from 7am until 10pm