The constituency covers the north west of the London Borough of Croydon and includes Thornton Heath, Norbury, Selhurst and parts of South and Upper Norwood.

[4] Charity worker and social entrepreneur Andrew Stranack, who has cerebral palsy,[5] was the Conservative Party candidate.

[6] On 17 October 2012, IT professional and former London Borough of Islington Councillor Marisha Ray was selected as the prospective Liberal Democrats candidate.

[6] On 29 October, the Chair[citation needed] of the London Race and Criminal Justice Consortium and a former Senior Policy Advisor to the then Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, Lee Jasper, was selected[citation needed] as the candidate for the Respect Party.

[9] On 3 November 2012, former children's book publisher and current Leader of London Borough of Lambeth Council, councillor[10] Steve Reed was chosen to be the Labour candidate after a closely fought battle with London Assembly member Val Shawcross.