The Liberal Democrats have tonight selected Marisha Ray as Parliamentary Candidate for the Croydon North by-election, caused by the death of Malcolm Wicks MP.

Marisha, a married mother of one, is a former IT professional. She spent much of her childhood with close family friends in Croydon. Marisha served as a councillor in Islington between 2002 and 2010, and was an executive member with special responsibility for tackling crime (2006-08), implementing a groundbreaking gang prevention strategy.

Commenting, Marisha said:

I would like to pay tribute to Malcolm Wicks who was a tireless advocate for people in Croydon North. His sad death offers the voters in North Croydon the opportunity to choose a champion who will continue Malcolm’s great work of putting Croydon residents first.

I’m really looking forward to meeting more people in Croydon North over the coming weeks. I want to talk to them about the real issues that matter, like cutting crime, fairer taxes and creating jobs.

I’m worried that the proposed changes to health care services in South London could put even more pressure on the hard working staff in at Mayday. As a councillor in Islington I worked to hold NHS bosses to account, so I know how to stand up for residents to protect valuable services.

My team and I have already hit the ground running, talking to residents across the Constituency, giving us a clear idea of the things people want us to fight for locally.

I also want to use this election to set out the good things that Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government are doing for people locally.

Whether it’s the extra Pupil Premium money coming to our schools to help the most disadvantaged children get the best start in life, the biggest ever cash increase in the state pension, or the thousands of workers in North Croydon who have so far had a £330 tax cut thanks to the Lib Dems.

Liberal Democrat influence has made this a far better Government for local people than if the Tories were governing alone, and as MP I would make sure we deliver even more tax cuts for ordinary workers and not for millionaires.

My record as a Councillor of tackling crime and standing up for local NHS services means I have the experience to stand up for local people on the issues that matter.