The candidates to fill the vacant Cannon Ward councillor position have been announced.

Mark Kenny stepped down from his role earlier this month, citing health concerns as a major reason.

As a result of the resignation, a by-election will now be held to fill the empty seat.

The nomination process for candidates opens on May 16 finished on May 23, with five nominees having thrown their hat in the ring.

These are:

Labour - Ryan Barnett

Lib Dem - Jenifer Gould

UKIP - Andrew Mills

Green Party - Susie O'Connor

Conservative - Michael Paterson

The Wimbledon Times then approached each political party and asked each candidate to spell out why they should be the new Cannon Hill councillor.

Of the five, Labour, Lib Dem, Green Party and Conservatives responded by the time of print.

The Conservatives chose to issue a short bio of Michael Paterson: “Michael is a retired accountant who has lived in Springfield Avenue with his family for the last eight years. During that time Michael has become increasingly frustrated by the failure of the Labour administration to clean the litter that piles up on our streets, prevent car crime and anti-social behaviour, and fill the unused tree pits to make Cannon Hill greener and a more pleasant place to live.

"Michael knows that Cannon Hill is a fantastic place to live, but it should be much cleaner, safer, and greener than it is. Michael’s plan for Cannon Hill is to work with the local community to focus on issues that really matter for Cannon Hill.

"Michael plans to improve local air quality by planting 50 trees across the ward. He will focus on the creation of new neighbourhood watch schemes in areas where they currently aren’t any, this will reduce crime and anti-social behaviour. Michael will also fight to bring back bins across the ward that the council have taken away, this will help to reduce the rubbish and grime that litter our streets.”