'Crime, town centre and our NHS' are top priorities for new Croydon West Labour MP

Harrison Galliven
·3-min read
Labour hold the new Croydon East and West seats (Credit: Harrison Galliven)
Labour hold the new Croydon East and West seats (Credit: Harrison Galliven)

Labour tightened its grip on London after taking the newly formed Croydon West seat, with Sarah Jones as the MP.

Croydon West was formed following the election boundary changes of 2023 and takes parts of the old Croydon Central seat which Jones previously represented since 2017.

She won her new seat with 20,612 votes and gained a majority of 14,226.

When asked about her priorities for Croydon West, Jones focused on three key issues.

She told the local democracy reporting service (LDRS): “Crime, the town centre and our NHS have to be our top priorities but there are so many things that can be done better with a good government.

“I think some of the commitments we’ve made as an incoming government are really designed for Croydon.

"Our town centre plan, our plan for more police on our streets, our neighbourhood and town centre officers that we have pledged and the commitment to cut waiting lists because we know that Croydon University Hospital is a really good hospital but it struggles under the weight of the demand that it faces.

“We can work together with the new Labour government to bring some change to Croydon whether it’s crime or anti-social behaviour that we see, whether its the housing problems that so many people face in Croydon West, whether it’s the cost of living or people waiting for NHS, we really need to get to work to try and make people’s lives better.”

When asked about her party’s success across the country, Jones said she was excited to get to work and act on the desire for change that she had encountered on doorsteps across the built-up constituency.

She told the LDRS: “I hope we can form a serious government that looks at these problems properly and actually tries to tackle them and deliver for Croydon West.”

The Croydon West results came in around 4:30 am, quickly following the results for Labour East where Jones’ colleague Natasha Irons also won. When asked how she would celebrate, Jones said: “I’m going to go to bed, I have to get up in a couple of hours to take my kids to school so I think it will be quite low-key.”

Jones stood on a very crowded stage when the results were delivered in the small hours. Croydon West had a total of eight candidates standing, including some from fringe parties like the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) and the Croydon-based Taking the Initiative Party (TTIP).

Donna Murray-Turner of TTIP formerly worked with Sarah Jones until she decided to join the fringe party earlier this year. TTIP member Charles told the LDRS that they plan to expand their operation beyond Croydon in future elections.

Simon Fox of the Conservatives came second to Jones, securing 6,386 votes. Both Ashley April Jacqueline of TUSC and Ahsan Ullah of the Workers Party were not present at the time the results were given.

The total size of the Croydon West electorate is 77, 891.

In total, 38, 304 votes were cast with a 49 per cent voter turnout.

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