Seven candidates standing in Henley and Thame constituency

Seven candidates standing in Henley and Thame constituency at the election on July 4 introduce themselves...

Caroline Newton (Conservative)

I was born and brought up in Henley and Peppard with my parents, David and Anthea Redmond, and my two sisters. I attended the Abbey School in Reading and read history at Cambridge.

I’ve lived in Britwell Salome with my husband, Matthew, and our children for almost two decades. My connection with Henley has always been strong.

Matthew and I were married at St Mary’s Church 20 years ago and my mother lived in Milton Close for 30 years and then at the Manor care home until she passed away recently. When I’m not out campaigning, I love gardening, travelling and spending time with my family and friends.

Henley and Thame has always been my home. I’m a local woman, born and raised here and raising my family here, too, in the heart of the constituency. I’m passionate about our communities, countryside and the environment and determined to address the challenges they face. I’ve served people here as a district and county councillor, church warden, school governor and chairman of the Townlands Memorial Hospital charity. I have a track record of supporting people to get the local services they need, such as social care and a social housing, and as your MP would be proud to be able to continue serving you.

If you do me the honour of electing me, I am committed to being strong voice for Henley and Thame in Westminster. In Henley these are the issues I’d particularly focus on: 

All of us who live in or near Henley want successful local businesses and a vibrant town centre with a good range of shops and services, including banking services, and if I’m your MP I’ll work to achieve that. l I’ll support projects to protect the environment and restore nature, particularly ensuring a clean River Thames that’s resilient to rising rainfall with Marsh Lock re-opened so we can enjoy it to the full

While, like you, I value our local GP surgeries and Townlands Memorial Hospital, I’ll ensure we all get quick access to good medical treatment close to home.

I want to ensure we have a choice about how we educate our children and will get more vocational options and apprenticeships. I campaign against VAT on private school fees which would hit many families here, not least those with special educational needs.

I’ll work with schools, colleges, local businesses and local government to ensure our young people have access to good jobs and affordable homes. But in Henley and Thame we deserve much more than just a good local candidate. The UK is charting its course in unpredictable times and that calls for strong, calm leaders like me with extensive national and international experience.

I believe we want an MP who will keep us safe, promote Britain’s democratic values and further our strategic international interests. My career has focused on understanding and explaining the world in which we live and promoting our nation’s interests. As a diplomat, I helped promote our security in Eastern Europe and the South Atlantic/Falkland Islands and I supported our strategic interests in Europe and Africa. As a BBC journalist, I produced BBC flagship news programmes and I’ve worked at a senior level in local and central government, including at No 10 Downing Street.

In the private sector I’ve helped British companies grow their business overseas. It’s my combination of deeply rooted local commitment and wider strategic skills that I believe make me the strongest candidate as MP for Henley. I’ve learned that to be effective, we all — particularly politicians — need to work in partnership, to build alliances with others who share our values and, while being guided by a strong internal compass, accept that compromise can sometimes be the best possible solution. That’s the way I would approach my role as your MP.

Jo Robb (Green)



I live in Shepherds Green with my husband and two sons and am an active member of my local community. Having trained as a lawyer, I arrived in the UK from Australia in 2001 and worked as a financial journalist and editor. I moved to the Henley area in 2016 and, in 2019, I was elected to South Oxfordshire District Council as councillor for Woodcote and Rotherfield ward. I was re-elected in 2023 and I am proud to be part of a strong Green group pushing for a fairer and greener district.

In my time as a councillor, I have earned a reputation for being principled, hard-working and dedicated.

I led efforts to protect the dark skies of the Chilterns National Landscape, which has resulted in the council having its first ever dark skies policy.

As a member of the planning committee, I have stood up against inappropriate development in our most beautiful rural areas.

I worked to secure a commitment for fair pay for council contractors and as a member of the Oxfordshire Pension Fund Committee, I use my understanding of financial markets to push for faster divestment from risky fossil fuel assets and for investment in the green economy of the future.

I am a longstanding campaigner against sewage pollution and for better access to our rivers.

As a member of the Henley Mermaids and as South Oxfordshire’s River Thames Champion, I spearheaded efforts to get bathing water status along our stretch of the River Thames.

Three sections of the Thames in South Oxfordshire will soon benefit from bathing water status or enhanced water quality testing. I have consistently called for Thames Water to be brought back into public ownership and managed for the good of people and nature, not shareholder profit – and the Green Party is the only major party taking this stance.

I was, until recently, a volunteer with the reading charity the Shannon Trust, visiting Huntercombe Prison on a regular basis.

I am a trustee of a housing charity that provides affordable housing for local residents.

I am not a career politician. I became a councillor and am standing to be an MP because I am driven by a desire to make a positive difference and to use my voice to help create a fairer and kinder society. Unlike the other parties, the Green Party does not operate a whip — we are free to speak up and vote for what is right.

The climate crisis is deepening and yet the major parties are either silent on it or are actively making it worse.

The Conservatives are granting new oil and gas licences in the North Sea, a cynical and reckless move which will do nothing for our energy security but will utterly erode our international credibility as a climate leader. Meanwhile, Labour has ditched its £28 billion green pledge.

We need strong Green voices in parliament to stand up for our climate, for nature and for the wellbeing of our young people and future generations.

We need to be clear that investing in climate action makes economic, social and environmental sense.

Only the Green Party has the courage and vision to call for the real change needed to reverse the devastating effects of 14 years of austerity on our public services and the NHS.

We have practical and ambitious policies to tackle the cost of living crisis, build new affordable homes in the right places, protect our NHS from creeping privatisation and clean up our rivers and seas.

A vote for the Green Party sends a strong message to Labour that they must do better.

It’s clear that the Tories are out. Here, voters can feel free to vote for what they really want.

If you want green, vote Green. I want the best for Henley and Thame and the UK and the people who call it home. If that’s what you want too, I’ll be keen to work with you if I become your MP on July 4.

Nanda Manley-Browne (Labour)



I am a law graduate of the University of Buckingham. I work in our NHS, leading community engagement on health inequalities across multiple boroughs. I have a young daughter and I am a school governor, charity trustee and an elected councillor.

In my day job and as a councillor, I work hard to tackle poverty, reduce inequality and take on those who pollute our air, rivers and green spaces. I want to create new opportunities for residents across Henley, Thame and the villages.

I am rooted in my work and believe that only by voting for change and backing Labour will we put a stop to the Tory chaos in our beloved country. It is the honour of my life to stand in this election to become your Member of Parliament.

Over the coming weeks, I and the many others under party banners will put forward our case to do what we can to deliver for you in Henley, Thame and the surrounding villages that make up this wonderful place.

Henley has never had a Labour MP and we can all see the state of our beloved country.

I don’t pretend whatsoever, not for a minute, that fixing the problems we face will be easy. However, I do ask that you give change a chance.

My record speaks for itself: as a council cabinet member and senior NHS manager, I strive daily to improve systems and engage with our communities to effect change.

As the mother of a young daughter, I understand the hopes and dreams we all have for our children.

I want them to grow up in a world where they have every opportunity to succeed:

a future that is bright and secure. I know there are Conservative voters who feel our country, and parts of our local community, is heading in the wrong direction.

Mortgages and rents are out of control, taxes are at record highs, prices are going up, the NHS is broken, our Henley Mermaids have to wade through filthy rivers and joyriders plague local supermarket car parks.

I bring a fresh perspective, the experience and a track record of delivery. Principally, I aim to protect our rivers and our green spaces and to stand up for you and our families.

Labour’s first steps in power will set us on a path to deliver for you.

We will:

Deliver economic stability and support you through the cost of living. l Cut NHS waiting times and ensure dignity in old age and retirement.

Set up Great British Energy to lower household and business energy bills.

Crack down on crime and launch a new Border Security Command.

Secure the funding we need for rural schools and recruit 6,500 new teachers.

It’s time for change.

There’s a clear choice at this election: more chaos with this government, or stability with Labour.

More decline and division or hope and unity with a changed Labour Party.

Residents across our constituency know that we live in a great country but it has been badly let down over the past 14 years.

The Tories have left the country worse off than when they formed a government with their Liberal Democrat accomplices.

Living standards are down, crime goes unpunished, ambulances never come, schools crumble over our children’s heads, mortgages and food prices are through the roof.

We have a long-term, serious plan to change Britain, to finally stop the chaos and turn the page — and start to rebuild our dear country.

My commitment to you is simple: If you are feeling politically homeless and want a candidate who is independent-minded and will be a national voice, forming part of a Change government, we will give Henley and the villages the fresh start they deserve.

We will secure the funding we need, back business, campaign for rural communities and for better broadband services, always stand up for our farmers and take tough action on crime whether it is antisocial behaviour or those organisations which pollute our rivers.

I urge you to lend me and Labour your vote for the very first time.

Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat)

I live and work in Henley with my wife, daughter and two dogs. I am a consultant to companies and patient groups, bringing new medicines and gene therapies to patients in rare disease, neurology, and oncology. Over the past 10 years my career has involved understanding the UK healthcare system and across Europe to remove barriers to patients accessing new treatments.

I am also a county and district councillor, representing Chalgrove and Watlington on Oxfordshire County Council since 2021 and Watlington on South Oxfordshire District Council since 2023.

From 2023-4 I was cabinet member for climate change and nature recovery.

I hold a degree from Bristol University in geographical sciences and French and in international relations.

I enjoy hiking and spending time with my young family enjoying the many public footpaths in South Oxfordshire.

I am appalled at the sewage crisis in the River Thames and local streams, polluting our waterways and putting swimmers, rowers and all river users, including our children, in harm’s way.

The Tories ideologically believe in a private water network but the Lib-Dems will convert Thames Water to a public benefit company, starting life debt-free and investing the “profits” back into infrastructure and not siphoned off to shareholders in other countries.

Rather than weakening the regulator Ofwat, as the Conservatives have, we will create a new powerful regulator and ban bonuses for water bosses that dump sewage.

I also want to fight for a better NHS, mental health and social care services for South Oxfordshire.

The Tories promised to deliver 40 new hospitals, including a replacement for the crumbling Royal Berkshire Hospital. This won’t even start until 2031 or later now.

It is also likely to be moved and I want to make sure accident and emergency and maternity services are still accessible to South Oxfordshire residents.

In other parts of the constituency significant housing growth planned by local Conservatives is placing enormous pressure on GP services.

The Lib-Dems will deliver 8,000 additional GPs nationally to guarantee GP appointments within set times and reduce pressure on hospitals and secondary care.

The Henley and Thame constituency has been badly let down by the Conservatives who voted again and again to continue sewage dumping and neglected their duties to constituents.

They want to allow sewage dumping until 2050.

We need change — that is why I’m standing to be Henley and Thame’s MP.

I want to restore your trust in politics and politicians who knuckle down and get things done for their residents — just as I do as a councillor in Chalgrove and Watlington.

When I think of what I enjoy most about being a councillor, it is helping residents to win on their issues.

Sometimes all this takes is an email and other times it takes weeks, months or even years of battling and chasing up with councils, utility companies, or agencies.

My ambition is to build a team here in the constituency that takes full ownership of case work and stewards it to a solution.

I will restore the place of our local MP as a focal point for action in the community. No passing the buck or palming people off to other organisations, which we have seen all too often in recent years.

Nationally, this Government’s time in office has led to record NHS waiting lists, routine sewage dumping and environmental neglect and a cost of living crisis made much worse by a chaotic self-inflicted financial crisis caused by Liz Truss.

We ’ve had four prime ministers, including three in a twomonth period, and fines issued to the former prime minister and his chancellor (now PM) for partying during covid.

Nobody I speak to wants another five years of this.

Henley and Thame’s next MP will either be a Conservative or a local Lib-Dem champion. Labour and the Greens cannot win here.

In this election we have a genuine opportunity to elect a non-Conservative to represent us.

I’m asking you to vote for me, the Liberal Democrat candidate, to deliver the change we need.

In short, I’m asking you to vote for me to be your local champion. Accountable, accessible, present, transparent, vocal — and on your side.

David Carpin (Independent)

I am a family man, who lives in Woodcote . I am a father of three children who attend local schools and are all making their way through the ranks at Henley Sea Cadets. I have more than 25 years’ experience working in business change and IT project managing within the insurance, banking, energy and manufacturing sectors and also government departments. I also run a property rental business.

I understand the impact of government policy on small business and aim to bring a level taxation playing field between small businesses and large corporations.

I stand under the Independent Alliance banner, which has 40 candidates standing across the Country. Policies can be found at www.theindependentalliance.org

I set up the Winston Smiths Literary review, a freedom of expression movement.

I give free local talks to Oxfordshire residents and invite speakers to talk, debate and take questions from the floor.

We discuss subjects such as “Money, banking and finance. How they keep you poor”, “Climate change, All is well. All will be well”, “The covid years”, “Post-war immigration, “The European Union, a corporatist racket and how the UK was shoehorned into the common market”.

I wish to become an MP because I have experience of debating political issues. I will challenge and say no to political agendas that constituents are not asking for.

Many people are now politically homeless and feel betrayed and failed by the political uniparty.

Constituents have lost faith in the self-serving, careerist politicians who serve international, globalist corporations and fail to represent their constituents.

We need to bring an end to voting for the least dreadful political party, where the outcome is always the same — more globalisation and further alienation from the constituent.

There is a viable alternative.

The Independent Alliance stands for:

Saying no to 15-minute cities, ULEZ and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods. 15-minute cities bring traffic to a standstill. They make journey times longer and more costly.

Rejecting net zero to ensure cheaper and more reliable energy. This can be done by removing VAT from energy bills and by removing renewable energy levies on bills. Also by encouraging shale gas exploration and the building of nuclear power stations.

Reducing business tax and simplifying personal tax. A UK citizen paying tax should know exactly where the tax is going. Small businesses should pay the same tax as global corporations. There should be a level playing field.

Putting more police on the bea. Police must act under oath to protect people and property and to uphold the law. They will be retrained in order to identify and resolve real crime. The police will be put on the beat. They will know their local communities and must be seen to be politically impartial.

Keeping cash. Cash will continue to be made available to allow the continued choice of both cash transactions and digital transactions.

Saying no to digital ID. The UK citizen is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This constitutional right must remain and must not be compromised by introducing and allowing digital ID to be abused.

Reforming the NHS, civil service and public sector. Every contract in the NHS will be reviewed. Every role outside the private sector will be reviewed. Trained NHS medical staff must be able to perform their role without unnecessary bureaucracy hindering them.

Stopping the boats. Boats will be stopped and there will be zero illegal immigration. All existing legal asylum applications will be processed and illegal migrants will be returned to their countries of origin.

Reducing high street rates. There should be no disparity between the rates and taxes that large corporations pay and the taxes paid by small business. High street rates must be reduced in order to see competition in the high street return.

Emphasising Parliament and the UK constitution. There should be no loss of sovereignty to supranational bodies such as the European Union, WHO, ECHR, United Nations and IPCC.

Reducing NGOs and quangos. Thousands of politicised organisations are funded by the taxpayer. Tax funding should be removed. The savings can passed to the taxpayer as tax cuts.

Building homes. Reduce unnecessary restrictions, regulation and red tape. Modular homes will be built on brownfield land, bringing down the cost of new housing.

Family values. Emphasise traditional family values and remove the practice of sexualising of children in the classroom.

Farming farmland. Farmland should not be given subsidies for sitting idle or for being used to host wind or solar farms. Local farmers need our support. Good food contributes to a healthy lifestyle. l Establishing public ownership of essential utilities.

Ending support for the foreign wars and all international hostility that contributes to global instability and migration.

Maryse Pomlett (Social Democrat Party) 



I LIVE near Wallingford and have worked in the Henley and Thame constituency and surrounding villages for several years.

Recently retired, I worked in social care as a social worker and commissioner, purchasing new or replacement services and, sadly, sometimes closing services.

Consequently, I have insight into some of the difficulties people experience in Henley and Thame and the surrounding villages.

Currently I volunteer for an essential and highly valued local charity and I am a coordinator for the Social Democratic Party.

I have lived in South Oxfordshire for 30 years. I have an allotment and love walking in the wonderful British countryside.

You should vote for me on July 4 for several reasons.

Are you politically homeless? I was until I found the common sense and well-thought out range of Social Democratic Party policies.

Many of these policies would help people and families survive the current cost of living crisis and improve their quality of life.

I believe the constituency requires better quality housing which matches the needs of local communities.

I support the SDP policies to build 100,000 social and council owned houses per year.

All residential let property will require a “conditions certificate” (a housing MOT) issued by a new housing standards inspectorate.

Community housing groups will be established to provide affordable housing in rural areas ring-fenced for local working families.

The SDP will reverse decades of economic neglect to reinvigorate rural communities through investment in infrastructure, mobile and broadband connectivity, public transport and policing.

Local housing needs to be based on what local residents need, for example, starter homes, different options for older people to downsize and family homes.

I am shocked at the cost and lack of accountability of our key utilities.

I strongly support the SDP policies to nationalise water, energy and the railways when public finances allow, making the utilities accountable through the relevant government bodies.

I believe the focus on the importance of getting a university degree immediately after leaving school is overrated and we do not have clear and easily available pathways to quality apprenticeships which lead to jobs in the economy.

I am concerned that our dependency on cheaper labour from abroad means our local trained apprentices don’t always find jobs to match their newly acquired skills and we then wonder why mental health is on the increase in younger people.

I support the SDP policies to:

Balance national skills needs by significantly reducing the number of new bachelor degrees and increasing funding for vocational qualifications.

Expand access to “degree apprenticeship” programmes, i.e. hybrid degrees which balance academic study with practical workplace experience.

Ensure schools provide more options for those who are best suited to vocational and technical programmes as well as providing academic courses.

I was attracted to the SDP because they believe in the importance of the family, communities and nation.

Families are the cornerstone of building cohesive communities. I support the SDP policies that say a couple raising children together (comprising a basic rate taxpayer and a nontax payer) should benefit from the full sharing of their tax allowance.

Married families will be given preference in council house and social housing allocation.

The building of council houses will be increased to 100,000 per year.

Social care and health services impact each other, so I welcome the SDP policies to establish a national care service which will organise, implement and fund social care throughout the country to provide good quality, comprehensive provision.

NHS management and overhead functions will be reduced in cost by 15 per cent in real terms over the lifetime of the parliament, with the savings returned to front line care.

Special measures will be applied to GP surgeries whose waiting times are in the bottom decile.

National Insurance identity cards will be issued to all eligible persons to help ensure that health services are provided for those who are entitled to them.

The NHS will train British citizens to fully satisfy its workforce requirements and end the practice of large-scale importation of doctors, nurses and other clinicians from developing countries.

I urge you to entrust our nation’s governance to the Social Democratic Party, which will protect it, cherish it and restore our homeland to prosperity. I would be honoured to be your MP.

Peter Shields (Reform)



I AM 53 years old, a husband and father of four. My first 30 years were spent in Manchester, then three years in Cambridgeshire, 10 in Bradford and now a decade in Oxfordshire. My early working years were spent as a statistical analyst for an insurance company before I pursued a vocation in youth and children’s work in the voluntary sector. Currently, I work for Sainsbury’s while establishing my own transport business.

I am a Northerner by temperament, a Christian by conviction and an activist by nature.

This is why I can’t simply stand by and watch the establishment decimate our great nation and squander our heritage. Reform offers the best opportunity to stop the rot.

Here’s a postcard summary of my politics: I’m a freedom fighter, proud patriot, free market fundamentalist, social conservative, Christian idealist, political populist, climate realist, cultural traditionalist and eternal optimist.

In essence, I’m what used to be called a Conservative.

I have campaigned for Brexit, resisted the covid tyranny and championed free speech. Diversity is not a strength — unity is. A common culture creates a United Kingdom; multiculturalism a divided one. The real climate crisis is the climate of hysteria.

Strong families are the bedrock of a society: marriage is sacred, children are a blessing.

A secure future depends on promoting motherhood, not mass immigration. The state should work for you and far fewer people should work for the state.

But don’t let me — or anyone else — hoodwink you with soundbites. Our nation’s accelerating decline needs far more than political intervention. We need divine intervention and a resurgence of our Christian roots.

Don’t let the Conservatives con you any longer, or blackmail you with threats of Starmer, or beg you to forgive their infidelity with promises of “this time I really will be faithful”.

The odds might be against us but if Reform can win anywhere, we can win in Henley and Thame. I’d appreciate your vote and if you can spare any time or money to help the campaign, that would be very welcome too.