On Monday evening, the people who want to represent East Putney and Thamesfield on Wandsworth Council will stand in a room and answer your questions. Not a press officer’s version. Not a leaflet through the door. Your question, their answer, in front of everyone.
This is the only time before the 7 May election that you can look a candidate in the eye and ask them something specific about your street, your commute, your school, your rent or your bins, and watch them answer it without a script.
Five parties are confirmed: Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, Reform and Green. One speaker per party. Every question put to the panel goes through the chair. After the formal session there are 30 minutes where you can speak to any candidate directly, face to face.
When: Monday 13 April, 7.30pm. Formal session done by 9pm.
Where: Community Church, Werter Road, SW15 2LL
Wards: East Putney and Thamesfield
Entry: Free. No registration. Just turn up.
Organised by: The Putney Society
How Monday works
The Putney Society has run hustings in Putney for decades. Each party gets one speaker. Other candidates from the same party can attend but will not speak from the platform. Speaking order is drawn by lot before the start.
Opening remarks run three to five minutes per speaker, followed by a chaired question-and-answer session of four to eight minutes each. Some questions go to all candidates. Traffic congestion was given as an example. Closing remarks run two to three minutes each, in reverse order.
After the formal session ends at 9pm, all candidates come down into the hall for half an hour. That is when you can have the conversation that does not fit a microphone.
Get your question in by Friday
Questions must be submitted by Friday 10 April. Email registration@putneysociety.org.uk
You do not need to write an essay. One sentence is fine. “What are you going to do about [thing that matters to you]?” is a perfectly good hustings question.
If you want to send us a copy too (editor@putney.news) we will track which questions get asked and which get ducked.
What to ask about
Not sure what to ask? Here is what has been happening in East Putney and Thamesfield over the past year. Any of it is fair game.
Traffic and transport is the issue that hits everyone daily. The Putney Bridge junction was redesigned in December 2024 and buses through Putney are still running 41% worse than the borough average. Werter Road, the street the hustings venue is on, is now a rat-run for sat-nav diverted traffic. Albert Bridge faces a year-long closure, pushing more traffic onto Putney Bridge. The District Line has been disrupted repeatedly. East Putney station was recently named the worst Tube station in London. And Wandsworth Town station trains will not stop for parts of the summer.
Try: “Buses through Putney are 41% worse than the rest of the borough since the junction was redesigned. What specifically will you do to fix it, and by when?”
Try: “Side roads off the High Street have become rat-runs because sat-nav apps divert traffic here to avoid the junction. What is your plan for residential streets being used as through routes?”
The High Street has seen M&S finally return after eight years, squatters evicted three times from the same building, a 200-room hotel approved with no taxi drop-off plan, a major empty block at 45-53 Putney High Street sitting dormant for 14 months, and two businesses quietly closing. What is the plan for a high street with genuine momentum but also genuine gaps?
Try: “Several buildings on the High Street have been empty for years. Some for a decade. What powers does the council have to prevent long-term vacancy, and will you use them?”
Crime and safety remains a concern. Vehicle crime surged in Thamesfield, prompting a policing reset. Police admitted they “usually cannot catch” car break-in criminals. A woman was killed at the East Putney crossing in May 2025. New signals were installed seven months later. Another man was hospitalised at the same spot in January.
Try: “A woman was killed at the Upper Richmond Road crossing and it took seven months to get new signals installed. How would you make sure that kind of delay does not happen again?”
Housing pressure is intense. The council applied twice to house nine people in 23 square metres on a Thamesfield street. 135 residents objected. Across the borough, 3,947 children are in temporary accommodation. The council spent four years trying to raise the affordable housing target and ended up with the same 35% it started with.
Schools are under strain. Oasis Academy Putney is closing this summer. Falling rolls are hitting schools across the borough. What is the plan for school places in Putney?
For the full evidence behind all of these, see our Ten Questions piece, where every question is grounded in a published investigation.
Before you go
Postal voting packs go out on 20 April. That is why the hustings are this early. If you are voting by post, Monday may be your last chance to hear the candidates before your ballot arrives.
Not yet registered to vote? You have until Monday 20 April. Register here.
Photo ID is required at the polling station on 7 May. Check what is accepted.
Two more hustings follow: Roehampton and West Putney on Wednesday 15 April at Holy Trinity Church, and Southfields on Tuesday 21 April at St Barnabas Church.
Correction: We originally reported that you only had until 14 April to register to vote. This was incorrect; you have until Monday 20 April.
Will you be reporting extensively on the hustings. or better still. will the meetings be recorded and available to view? I would have been very interested in attending but am away all next week.
Yes, we will be reporting on each Putney hustings. We’re not aware if they are meeting recorded or posted – we will find out and put it in a story for you.