My London

Q. What motivated you to enter local politics?
A. My mentor when I became a magistrate was a councillor and one day she asked me if I was interested in politics. She invited me along to a couple of meetings and in a sense that was the beginning of my involvement in 'local politics'. Looking back, however, I now realise that I had always had an interest in local politics; I've always been the mother at school who got the petition together, I just didn't call it 'local politics' at the time.

Q. How long have you lived in London?
A. I have lived in Croydon since the age of three.

Q. What's the best thing about living in London?
A. It's the place where you meet fantastic people and see fantastic things. No matter how many times you visit a part of London there always seems to be a new alley or side street to explore. And when you walk down a road in London you can probably hear five or six different languages before you reach the end.

Q. What's the worst?
A. Sometimes there are just too many people. I know that might seem to be in complete contrast to what I've just said but there are times when you need to get somewhere quickly, and you just can't. Getting from A to B can be a problem, because nowhere in London isn't busy!

Q. If you could change one thing about the capital, what would it be?
A. Free travel for young people on public transport. While I think it is a good thing for school journeys, I also think it has caused a lot of problems. Many of my residents now fear using the bus and tram service. Therefore I would stop free travel after 6.30pm and at weekends.

Q. What are the top three issues people bring to your surgery?
A. The environment, planning and anti-social behaviour.

Q. Will the 2012 Olympics bring long-term benefits to London?
A. For my area of London, I don't believe there will be much benefit as our links to the development site are very poor.

Q. What's your favourite building in London?
A. The Gherkin, particularly when viewed in contrast to the Tower of London, jointly they show the history of innovation in London.

Q. Name one London building you think should be demolished
A. London Bridge station is very functional, but not particularly attractive. I would love to see it improved.

Q. Describe yourself in three words
A. Happy, positive and diplomatic

Q. What historical figure do you most admire (and why)?
A. Margaret Thatcher because she proved to women it was possible to achieve at the highest levels at a time when there was still a lot of doubt and prejudice in the workplace.

Q. What was the last film you saw/book you read?
A. I'm reading The Masks of Darkness by Patricia Hall, but I like any murder mystery. I'm not a big film fan but the last time I went to the cinema with my family we saw the lastest Harry Potter film. The last band I saw was the Wombats at the Albert Hall.

Cllr Bashford supports London Councils be a councillor campaign. To find out more visit www.beacouncillor.org.uk Opens in a new window