Croydon North

Parliamentary candidate - Gerry Jerome

Croydon North candidate Gerry Jerome

Gerry Jerome believes that the constituency of Croydon North has been neglected by both Conservatives and Labour for too long, and he will work hard to highlight the needs of its residents.

Political experience

Gerry comes fresh from last year's victory in Sutton Council, where he took his seat from the Conservatives with over 50 per cent of the votes and a swing of more than 5 per cent. He has served as a Councillor in Sutton for over eight years, but he is by no means a career politician. A successful businessman, Gerry will use his extensive professional and life experience to help the people of Croydon North, where some of the Borough's most deprived areas can be found.

About Gerry

Originally from Mauritius, Gerry arrived in Britain in 1967 when he was 13. He was the son of a carpenter and the first in his family for generations to have even secondary schooling. He recognises the importance of a good education and feels extremely lucky to have had a university education. He gained his first degree, in Pharmacology, from Sunderland Polytechnic, and went on to study Computing at Newcastle Polytechnic and City University.

When Gerry left university he joined the Civil Service as an executive officer in London. He then moved to Newcastle with the Department of Health and Social Security to work on the computerization of the Retirement Pensions system. After 11 years in the Civil Service, he joined NatWest bank. In 1995 Gerry became an IT consultant contracted to major financial institutions including CitiBank, the Prudential and EDS. He set up his own company in 2000, employing 15 IT consultants servicing investment banks in the City.

Gerry is adept at communicating with, and on behalf of, people from many different backgrounds and cultures. His Mauritian Creole descent is a mixture of African, French and Indian. He is married to a Scot, Kirsty, and they have three children. Pascal, their eldest son, is studying Physics at Oxford and their twin daughters, Isabelle and Jessica, are in their final year of A Levels. Gerry's extended family includes very diverse ethnic backgrounds - English, Greek Cypriot, West Indian, German, Polish, Filipino and Norwegian - and spans the British social spectrum, from those privileged to receive private education to others coping as single, unemployed parents.

Constituency profile

Croydon North covers much of the old Croydon North West seat which was previously held by the Liberals following a famous Parliamentary by-election in 1981.

More recently support for the Liberal Democrats has been on the increase in Croydon North. There was a 10% increase in the number of votes cast for the Liberal Democrats between the 1997 and the last General Elections in 2005, whilst votes for Labour and the Conservatives dropped significantly.

The Liberal Democrats also came close to pushing the Conservatives into third place in a recent local by-election in Bensham Manor ward.

The Conservatives have been on the decline in Croydon North for many years and they do not have a single councillor here.