REDBRIDGE is to play a key role in the European elections in two weeks, in what some pundits are calling one of the most significant votes of recent years.

Many are predicting a surge in support for fringe parties, as the public are expected to shun the mainstream following the revelations about MPs’ expenses.

Several parties in the London round of voting are fielding residents from Redbridge as candidates, while politicians in the borough have also waded into the debate about who to vote for.

Former Woodford Green Conservative MP Lord Norman Tebbit sparked controversy among his own party when he urged voters to either “sit on their hands” or vote for minority parties in protest at the expenses scandal, rather than vote Tory, Labour or Lib Dem.

And this week the prospective parliamentary Labour Party nominee for Chingford and Woodford Green, Cath Arakelian, has also raised eyebrows by saying one independent candidate “needs encouragement” from voters.

In a letter to the Guardian, Ms Arakelian said: “I am appalled at how the current MPs are destroying the good reputation of our Parliament.”

After urging the public to vote against the Conservatives, UKIP or the BNP, Ms Arakelian added: “By the way - if voters really do want to avoid the main parties there is always Steven Cheung from Chingford, standing as an independent.

“At 19-years-old he is the youngest candidate in the European Election and he needs encouragement.”

Current Woodford Green MP Iain Duncan Smith refused to comment on Lord Tebbit’s comments.

But he did say: "I have no idea what will happen at the European elections. I've given up on speculating elections."

Meanwhile Woodford Green’s own Bob Crow has announced he is standing as the main candidate for his No2EU: Yes to Democracy party, while The Christian Party’s main candidate, George Hargreaves, is from Ilford.

Another leading No2EU member, Syed Enamul Islam, is from Ilford, while South Woodford’s John Evans, who stood unsuccessfully as the British National Party’s (BNP) by-election candidate in Wanstead, is standing again for his party.

The election will be held on Thursday June 4.

The parties standing are: the BNP, the Christian Party, the Conservative Party, the English Democrats Party, the Jury Team, the Liberal Democrats, No2EU: Yes to Democracy, Libertas, the Socialist Labour Party, the Green Party, the Labour Party, the Socialist Party of Great Britain, the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and Yes 2 Europe.

There are also five independent candidates standing.