On Thursday May 7, the residents of South West Surrey will be going to the polls to vote for their next MP.

But who are the people standing for election in the constituency?

We've spoken to all five candidates whose names will be on ballot papers in this general election to find out a bit about them and what the single most important thing is they'd do for the constituency if elected.

Patrick Haveron - Independent (formerly Liberal Democrat candidate)

Patrick Haveron first became involved in politics when the old Godalming fire station, from where he started his business, was under threat of closure from Surrey County Council.

Mr Haveron has spent much of his time petitioning the borough council on the local plan in recent months and he believes this will be the biggest single issue on voters’ minds in the constituency when they go to the polls on May 7.

“There is a presumption in favour of residential over office space, which means there will be no places to work. We will be a dormitory borough.

“If you look at the statistics, the largest employer is Sainsbury’s, which is not very inspiring. Setting up your own business is fine, and they employ two or three people, but they cannot run from someone’s home."

Jeremy Hunt - Conservative

Family and childhood links are important factors for the Conservative candidate running in this year’s general election.

Jeremy Hunt first became the Member of Parliament for South West Surrey in 2005 and was selected to run for the seat again this May. A former Charterhouse pupil, Mr Hunt’s background is in education and PR, and he is fluent in Japanese.

Mr Hunt said: “I was brought up locally in Shere and my father grew up in Godalming so I appreciate how fortunate I was to grow up in such a wonderful area."

Having campaigned on a variety of issues throughout his time in the constituency, Mr Hunt believes the biggest issues in the next few years will be based around jobs and health.

He said: “There are a lot of issues that will be important over the next five years including creating job opportunities for young people, ensuring there are enough good quality school places for local children and protecting the character of our area both built and natural.

“It is an incredible privilege to represent the area you grew up in. Whatever role I play in national life I know my friends and family will never allow me to forget the people who give me my job.”

Louise Irvine - National Health Action Party

A lifetime of campaigning has led a doctor from Scotland to stand against the Health Secretary in the general election.

Dr Louise Irvine has been a GP for 26 years and has worked in south east London for most of that time. One of her proudest achievements is saving her local hospital from closure.

“I am the chairman of the Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign. When Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt decided to close Lewisham Hospital, the campaign and the council took the government to judicial review. We won, and then when the government appealed the decision we won the appeal.

“I have always been passionate about the NHS, partly because I work in it, but partly as a patient too."

In 2012, she joined together with like-minded doctors and individuals to set up the National Health Action Party.

Dr Irvine is keen to point out that the party has a range of policies, even though the NHS is the focus.

Howard Kaye - Labour

The chance to be an alternative has driven this year’s Labour Party candidate to stand in the general election.

Howard Kaye, a train driver from Farnham, hopes to win the South West Surrey seat on May 7, and become the first Labour MP since the seat was created in 1982.

“I have chosen to stand in this election because I believe that I can offer a credible, more effective alternative to the current member for this constituency.

“Coming from a non-professional political background, I believe I have the real life experiences that will enable me to fully represent all the residents of South West Surrey within parliament.”

Housing and school places are big issues according to the Labour candidate who said that schools are reaching ‘crisis points’ as places have failed to keep up with numbers in the county for years.

“There is a total lack of truly affordable housing, 80% of the price of a property is still an absolute fortune, local young people are having to relocate outside of South West Surrey to get on the housing ladder.

“Transport is an issue that is only going to get worse with the rise in numbers of residents within South West Surrey. More work needs to be done to promote suitable alternatives. Bus and train times to be coordinated when possible, additional bus routes to promote more usage.”

Paul Robinson - Something New

A vision of democracy done differently has spurred one election candidate to start his own political party.

Paul Robinson, who has represented the Central and Ockford ward on Godalming Town Council since 2011, initially as a Conservative, is turning his hand to national politics, under the banner of his party Something New.

"I’m standing for election because​ there ​should be more​ choice on the ballot​ paper, particularly in a constituency where most votes have traditionally gone to the two parties of coalition government.

“Our greatest problems are inequality​ of wealth, opportunity and housing​​ across the county, a lack of democratic accountability and diversity of representation, and combating the effects of climate change, ​such as flooding and energy insecurity which have hit our towns hard in recent years.

“I’m also passionate about improving road safety for pedestrians, wheelchair users and cyclists.”

Mr Robinson’s party has created what it believes to be the first ‘open-source’ manifesto, where more people can have a say.

Susan Ryland - Green Party

Disillusion with the political offering in South West Surrey has pushed a university lecturer from Hindhead to run in this year’s General Election.

Susan Ryland first came to Farnham as a student, studying fine art, and has remained in the area ever since. Dr Ryland lives in Beacon Hill and lectures at Imperial College London. She was part of the first class to graduate with a Phd in metonymic art at the University of Creative Arts, in Farnham.

Dr Ryland sees the need for social housing, instead of solely relying on affordable housing, to meet the need.

“What is called affordable housing is a misuse of language,” she said. “We need social housing, managed so that people can rent at truly affordable rates. I went to Guildford before Christmas and saw a man sleeping in a stairwell near G Live. I thought this is wrong, but what do you do.

“There is a balance to be struck, and we are in favour of developing brownfield sites as long as they have the infrastructure to make them workable. If the roads can’t cope with housing and there are no services, then there has got to be joined up thinking between Surrey County Council and local authorities."

Mark Webber - UK Independence Party

Mark Webber grew up in north-east Hampshire and attended Farnborough Sixth Form College.

The 41-year-old, who became a member of UKIP in 2013, said he would be the ‘main challenger’ to unseat health secretary Mr Hunt, and he would make NHS provision a leading issue in his campaign.

Despite his recent entry to politics, the former divinity student has been quick to amass experience, standing in May's Tower Hamlets Council elections – where he came seventh out of nine candidates – as well as helping successful UKIP parliamentary by-elections in Clacton and Rochester & Strood.

“It’s going to take a lot of work to unseat Jeremy Hunt, but I’m up for the fight," he said.

Mr Webber believes that UKIP policies will go down well in South West Surrey, particularly when people can hold their councils to account.

“We would plan for local referenda for large scale developments. If 5% of the population wanted to, they could trigger a referenda. It forces councils to come up with more acceptable plans, so they have to look at things like infrastructure."

Mr Webber said he is also passionate about education, an issue which has been popular on the doorstep.

He said: “We are proposing to allow grammar schools to be created, because they are good for social mobility, and good for working class kids. Kids from that background really benefit."
