The skateboard-loving manager of a Kingston record store has thrown his hat into the ring in a Kingston Council byelection.
Banquet Records owner Jon Tolley is standing as an independent in the Grove byelection on May 7.
He said he was partly inspired to run after Conservative council leader Kevin Davis’ tweet telling campaigners opposed to the high-rise flats planned for the old post office site “not to upset the people in power”.
He also upset the apple cart when he spoke out about the cancellation of the Kingston Carnival.
March 11: Kingston Council leader tweets campaigners "don't upset the people in power"
The by-election in Grove, a town centre ward, was called after the resignation of Liberal Democrat Stephen Brister, and will coincide with the General Election vote.
Mr Tolley, who is a teetotaler and vegetarian, meaning he is often the only completely sober person at his gigs, said: “I’m a socialist and a business man, and I don’t think there’s any conflict there.
“Politically I generally lean to the left, but I find value in parts of what all the main parties believe.
"On a local council level someone has to be asking the questions that might not be on the agenda of a party line.”
In a post on the Banquet Records site at banquetrecords.tumblr.com he said a member of another political party had already told him he would be "the enemy".
Mr Tolley is a supporter of Kingstonian football club and is also a board member of town centre management company Kingstonfirst, representing independent retail alongside the representatives of giants like Bentalls, John Lewis, investment companies, as well as police and university representatives.
He has already received his first political ultimatum from a voter: Don't play any Mumford and Sons or I won't vote for you.
If every supporter of the record store and its wildly popular New Slang events could vote, Mr Tolley would be a shoe-in, with a councillor able to win a seat with as few as 700 votes.
Fans of the bands, including Liam Gallagher's Beady Eye, he has brought into Kingston for record signings and in store gigs queue around the block. But, they don't all live in the Grove ward of Kingston, which stretches from Kingston Station to Raven's Ait near Surbiton.
And he is not above larking around. His spoof video of Blurred Lines was a hit on Youtube.
Grove Ward people: vote for vote, this is the biggest difference you can make in May election. http://t.co/FcoFDQpYaQ pic.twitter.com/THRZRtpBmO
— jon tolley (@JonTolleyTweets) April 9, 2015
— jon tolley (@JonTolleyTweets) April 10, 2015
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel