The Tottenham Independent has asked each parliamentary candidate why they should become an MP at the General Election.

Here, the Green Party's Tottenham candidate Dee Searle sets out why people should vote for her on May 7.

I am a no-nonsense north Londoner who has spent most of her working life helping others to be heard, initially as a journalist for national and international news organisations, including The Guardian, Observer, US National Public Radio, Time Magazine, and the BBC World Service, and later in the charity sector and education.

I am determined to convert the Green surge in Tottenham into electoral success on polling day.

I lived for a while in Bulgaria, where I reported on the overthrow of the communist regime and the oppression of the country’s persecuted Turkish minority. On returning to London, I launched Red Pepper magazine and worked for Channel 4 television, before taking on senior roles at the UN children's fund Unicef in New York, Amnesty International, and Oxfam, among others.

After four years as director of communication at University of the Arts London, I left in 2014 to set up a free arts and humanities university for young Londoners who can't afford education fees.

I have held numerous voluntary positions, including as a trustee of Home Start Camden, as a member of the steering committee of the Weekend Arts College, and on the National Executive Committee of the National Union of Journalists.

I am proud to be associated with the Green Party's For the Common Good agenda.

The Green Party would protect the environment, support our communities and create jobs through renewable energy programmes, recycling, building social housing, improving care provision, producing food sustainably, supporting the arts and music and, of course, reviving the NHS as a properly-funded, public service, free of privatisation.

The Greens are the only party that is committed to creating a sustainable future for all Tottenham's people. 

One of my priorities would be to challenge the austerity programmes being promoted by the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Labour, which I believe are not working and are making the poor pay the debts of the banks and big business.