Sally Pannifex

“I have worked as a critical care nurse in the NHS for over twenty years and lived in Merton since 2007. As an artist, wife and mother, I did not think that I had time to work and be politically active as well, but needs must!”

“As a freeholder on the Eastfields estate in Mitcham, with its huge park-like grounds, I feel totally let down by Merton Council. This can happen when you are in a safe seat! They gifted Merton’s social housing stock to the housing association sector in 2010 and, since then, my rights have been eroded. We have had regeneration imposed upon us, and endured five different incarnations of landlords - currently, Clarion. The Council said that regeneration was needed because the properties cost too much to maintain. Phase 1 is due to start this autumn and, after 10 years of neglect on this estate, Clarion are about to redo all the roofs, and have been jet-washing the pavements and cutting down trees!”

“There are numerous empty flats, some refurbished and some boarded up, which is absurd in a housing crisis. And the plan to build more private rent homes to fund social housing is not a solution to the housing problem. We need more truly affordable housing.”

“David Attenborough’s witness statement A Life on Our Planet helped to make the scale and urgency of the climate emergency real for me. I urge you to watch his film or read his book, and then ask yourself if you believe that the leading political parties have this in hand.”

“With fossil fuels making massive profits, whilst the majority of working people are struggling to survive, the Green Party offer real solutions. The climate is not just a political football for the Green Party. The survival of our planet requires all of us to demand change.”

“I am a passionate advocate for my patients, who are often vulnerable and overlooked by the system. Standing for a political party genuinely aligned with my values in my borough, so that others can vote for real change, makes sense to me and is a privilege.”