TWO contenders for the Croydon South parliamentary seat will go head to head in a debate tonight (January 5), ahead of May's general election.
Conservative Chris Philp and Labour's Emily Benn have been invited to take part in the contest by the Coulsdon and Purley Debating Society.
The two prospective candidates, who are both Oxford graduates, have been tasked to discuss the economy, at the Old Coulsdon Centre for the Retired in Grange Park, Coulsdon Road at 8pm.
Mr Philp was selected as the Conservative candidate for Croydon South in November 2013, succeeding incumbent Sir Richard Ottaway, who has held the seat since 1992. He stood as the Tory candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn in 2010, losing by 42 votes to former actress Glenda Jackson.
Meanwhile, Emily Benn, granddaughter of Labour stalwart Tony Benn, was elected as a councillor for West Thornton in last May's council elections. She was selected to contest Croydon South, which has been held by the Tories since its creation in 1974, in July last year.
The Coulsdon and Purley Debating Society run regular debates on various topics at the centre on the first Monday of every month.
