The Conservatives say Jeremy Corbyn is a danger to national security. Labour says “the trade unions are part of our DNA” and a Labour government would act preferentially towards the unions. The Liberal Democrats boast they now have more than 100,000 members and are back as a fighting force. UKIP wish to ban the burka and Sharia law. The Green Party, who claim to be multicultural, say the UKIP agenda is Islamophobic whilst the SNP say the more Tory MPs there are, the heavier the price Scotland will pay.
Former Hendon Labour MP and current member of the London Assembly Andrew Dismore has decided not to contest the seat for a third time after losing to Conservative MP Matthew Offord in 2010 and again in 2015.
Conservative MP Sir Eric Pickles will step down from his Brentwood and Ongar constituency after 25 years, and it appears he will also vacate his position as Chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel. It is widely expected he will move to the House of Lords.
Supporter and good friend of the Jewish community former Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith, who lost his Richmond seat to the Liberal Democrats in October 2016 due to a self-declared bi-election, is tempted to try to unseat MP Sarah Olney. Although Goldsmith resigned from the Conservative Party over their decision to expand Heathrow airport and stood as an independent, the Liberal Democrats took advantage of the majority of Richmond residents voting to remain within the EU whilst Zac campaigned to leave. The Conservative Party is considering “very seriously” Zac as one of the three CCHQ shortlisted candidates for the Tory nomination. Some local Conservatives are ready to forgive Zac and remember the work he did for them in Richmond. Others are said to be less keen.