The general election on Thursday, July 4 will be on us before we know it and the publication of the list of Woking candidates marks another step closer to the big day.
The seat has been held by the Conservative Jonathan Lord since he was first elected in 2019 but polls suggest it could be a challenge for him to hold on for a fifth term.
The council has been moving towards the Liberal Democrats in recent years and the party will be hoping to repeat its results in the national poll.
Labour, which most surveys have as winning the overall election would need to upset local odds to win while the Green Party, Reform UK and the Heritage Party will all look to make inroads in the area.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service reached out to the six candidates hoping to win your vote in Woking and let them pitch why you should back them on July 4.
The candidates are listed in alphabetical order by surname.
Nataly Anderson, Green
Nataly Anderson, from Woking, has a lifelong commitment to social justice and environmental protection. She turned to politics after her children were abducted, and founded Family Court Crisis, a collective supporting vulnerable families in accessing justice.
Elected to Liberty’s policy council in 2023, Nataly fights for human rights and against the privatisation of critical public services.
With an MBA in real estate and corporate finance, Nataly has a diverse career in both the private and public sectors. She writes about injustice as a citizen journalist and associate member of the National Union of Journalists.
Richard Barker, Reform UK
New to politics, Richard decided to stand for Reform UK once he realised the two-party system had morphed into a single mindset.
Uncontrolled mass immigration, high taxation, low growth and big state/state interference are now endorsed across the political divide.
Richard is concerned about the failure to address the ‘woke’ agenda which has taken root across society, eroding free speech, re-writing our history and threatening our culture.
Raising awareness that ‘net-zero’ will make us poorer, for little benefit, he stands for Reform UK because it represents British values, supports the enterprise economy, excellence in public services and our sovereignty.
Ese Erherience, Labour
“I’ve spent my life trying to be a voice for the voiceless. Growing up in a working-class household, educational reforms by the Labour government of the time changed my life.
“I eventually became an international financial journalist, breaking stories about mismanagement and corruption. So the scale of the financial crisis here in Woking feels personal.
“I’m standing for election here because I am committed to representing the needs of local people and I want to bring fiscal competence and integrity back to politics.
“As your Labour MP, I will be a bridge between Woking and Westminster, creating the change we need to give this hard-working town its future back.”
Will Forster, Liberal Democrats
Will Forster was born and raised in Woking, he is an experienced local councillor and former Mayor.
Will is deputy leader of Woking Council, where he has played a leading role tackling the financial crisis left by the former Conservative council.
As Woking’s MP, Will’s priorities are clear: get help for Woking Council from the Government, fix our NHS, cut the cost of living and protect our environment.
That means getting fairer funding for councils, making it easier to see a doctor when you need one, it means a real windfall tax on oil and gas, and ending sewage dumping in our rivers.
Jonathan Lord, Conservative
“I live in Woking, I’ve raised a family here and I have a strong local record of delivery. Over recent years, I’ve secured the Bedser Hub for Woking Community Hospital – and now a fantastic new state-of-the-art diagnostic centre too.
“Successful campaigns include delivering vital anti-flooding schemes, a less noisy surface on the M25, a new bus route from Woking to Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals and saving Citizens Advice Woking and the Pool in the Park.
“Working together, we can achieve even more – but a Labour government, with its massive tax hikes on Woking residents, will put all this at risk.”
Tim Read, Heritage Party
Tim has lived in Woking for over 25 years with his family.He’s a chartered chemical engineer who has also been a local primary school governor and church warden.
He’s standing for the Heritage Party, representing its pro-life beliefs in wanting the war in Eastern Europe stopped, and damaging sex education ideology removed from schools.
He strongly opposes net zero which, like many people, he knows is doomed to painful failure. He believes Britain can be a happy country, prosperous, free and caring, if we value and build on our Christian Heritage.