THE Conservatives are the latest party to reveal their candidate for the upcoming September by-election.

The Maybury and Sheerwater ward seat became vacant because Liberal Democrat Mohammed Bashir, who won the election last year by only 16 votes to Labour, has been banned from office for five years and suspended from the Party after the High Court found him guilty of electoral fraud.

Hoping to pip his electoral rivals to the post is Tory candidate Mohammed Rashid.

Chairman of Woking Conservative Association, Linda Kemeny, said: “Although we regret the need for this by-election, Woking Conservatives have an excellent local candidate in Mohammed Rashid, who was chosen following a two-stage selection process by the Woking Association and the Maybury and Sheerwater Conservative branch.

“Mr Rashid is a widely respected member of the community. He will bring a wealth of business experience to the council and will work hard with the administration as well as on the many issues that are important in Maybury and Sheerwater.”

A former executive member of the Pakistani Welfare Association, Mr Rashid was the Conservative candidate for Maybury and Sheerwater in 2008, when he lost to then Liberal Democrat Mohammed Bashir.

He has lived in Woking since 1974 and went to local schools. He is married with three daughters and is a Maybury resident. For 22 years he was a master baker in Byfleet before moving into the taxi business in 2005. He was involved in a campaign to get a better deal for drivers over deregulation around that time.

Mr Rashid supports the petition of Conservative Cllr Mazaffar Ali to delay the Euro 5 emissions standard for taxis in Woking, and is pleased that the council have set up a task group to examine the issue more closely.

If elected, he says he will focus on addressing the many concerns across the ward.

He is keen to see an improvement in housing and supports the redevelopment of Sheerwater as long as people are not forced to relocate from the area.

Mr Rashid believes that dealing with littering, antisocial behaviour, and working with the police and other agencies to tackle drug culture is key to keeping the ward a clean and safe place.

Working with county councillor Ben Carasco, he intends to address issues with roads and parking.