I have lived in Holloway – on the same estate (now called ‘Hyde Village’) for 18 years and in Islington Borough for 28 years. I live with my partner and 18 year old daughter who’s studying for her A Levels. I work for various peace organisations, all within the borough.

I’ve been a school governor twice so of course education is one of my interests, although many of the issues for education are outside of council control.

I think the main issues for the council to work on are housing, road safety and traffic, environment and facilities and opportunities for young people.

There is a dire need of affordable housing. We don’t need any more luxury homes, we need social housing. Having spent 16 years in a one-bedroomed flat with daughter and partner, I’m well placed to understand how people feel when they live in overcrowded conditions.

Like a majority of Islington households, ours does not have a car, and I get annoyed at the constant assumptions that only drivers shop or go to a football match. Perhaps we could offer incentives for people to get rid of their cars – a free car club membership for example, or a discount card for a local cab company. I’d make sure the rights of car-free households and pedestrians are not overlooked when providing facilities for car drivers, and when approving planning permissions. I would like to see more car clubs in Islington with no-one more than a couple of streets away from their local carclub vehicle – and a big publicity campaign to back this up.

There’s a shortage of allotments in the borough with many people on a waiting list. There are people who cannot use their gardens; through lack of time or infirmity perhaps. I’d like to encourage schemes to put the two together by garden-sharing. I’d like to see neglected scraps of land being used to grow stuff (flowers or food, I don’t mind). Seen the garden at Goodinge Health Centre with the raised beds? Most schools seem to have small food growing areas; the children could get involved in planting outside of school too. Let’s make Islington beautiful at very little cost!

Claire Poyner