Since the last local elections in 2022, the political landscape has been transformed. Back then, Croydon was still framed as a contest between Labour and the Conservatives. But today the picture is very different.

The latest YouGov polling for London shows Labour's support collapsing, the Conservatives also falling back, and Reform entering the scene. Meanwhile, support for the Liberal Democrats has grown. The playing field has been levelled. Council seats across Croydon will now be won on a much lower percentage of the vote than in the past.

That opens up a unique opportunity for real change. Voters who want to break from the failed politics of the past - Labour's bankruptcy of Croydon and the Conservatives' false promises to "fix the finances" - finally have a chance to do so. And those who reject the divisive, scapegoating rhetoric of Reform also have a home: uniting behind the Liberal Democrats.

The old politics of Labour versus the Conservatives is over. This election is about whether Croydon continues to lurch from one crisis to another, or whether we take a new direction - one that delivers competence, fairness, and hope.

But that change can only happen if people use their voice. In 2022, more than 180,000 Croydon residents did not vote. That silence helped allow the same old parties to cling on. If we want to turn the page on decades of failure, apathy and indifference cannot be an option.

I am standing to offer Croydon something different: a Council that lives within its means, that puts residents before political vanity projects, and that invests in the future - in youth services, our town centres, and communities across the borough.

The chance for change is here. Together we can make it happen.