Susanna Wilkey POPULAR community figures are stepping up to the plate to stand for Camden Council at the next local elections in May. While one Conservative candidate for Camden Town and Primrose Hill is no stranger to elections, having fought six over th

Susanna Wilkey

POPULAR community figures are stepping up to the plate to stand for Camden Council at the next local elections in May.

While one Conservative candidate for Camden Town and Primrose Hill is no stranger to elections, having fought six over the past 24 years and been elected twice.

Pete Horne, who has lived in Chalk Farm all his life, is a tube driver on the Northern line and runs an after school club in Talacre as well as serving on the committee of the St Pancras Almshouses.

He said: "I really enjoy standing in the elections. I have got first hand knowledge of all the departments at the council which I have gained over the years. Some people come into local government and use it as a stepping stone up but I am not one of those people."

Another veteran politician has joined the Labour camp to stand in the St Pancras and Somers Town ward after the local party lost one of its rising stars, Luciana Berger, who was snapped up to stand nationally in the Liverpool seat of Wavertree.

Peter Brayshaw has a track record as a Camden councillor having served from 1990-94 and 2000-06 representing Bloomsbury.

An economist by trade he is also a member of the Curnock Estate Tenants and Residents Association and is an elected patient governor at University College London Hospital.

He said: "I am delighted to have been selected, and have already been working hard with Cllr Roger Robinson and Samata Khatoon to take our Labour message across the ward.

"My own experience and skills will help me meet the priorities of the local residents, which I believe are local jobs and training, better and more housing, improved health for all, maintaining and cementing social cohesion among all out diverse communities."

Community activist and NW3 traders group member David Bouchier has been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Hampstead Town ward. He runs a TV production company in Hampstead and has lived in the area for 15 years.

He said: "We have got a great team and I am pleased to be putting some effort back into the local community.

"Linda has done some great work and it is a fantastic opportunity to stand in a great ward I am passionate about."

In Highgate, where two Green councillors Adrian Oliver and Alex Goodman are stepping down at the next election (see separate story, left), long-standing Green party member Tristan Smith will be attempting to step into their shoes.

Mr Smith, who lives in Primrose Hill, is secretary to both the Camden Green party and the London Federation of Green parties and works for London's Green MEP Jean Lambert in her London office.

He stood as a parliamentary candidate for the Cities of London and Westminster in 2005 and is currently reading law at the Open University.

He said: "I am getting to know Highgate by delivering leaflets and knocking on people's doors and I am meeting people in the area.

"I have been a member of the Green party for a long time and I am used to local politics. Adrian and Alex are both fantastic councillors and they are going to be a difficult act to follow. I have never been