I have been politically active since 2017 when I first attended a Saturday morning meeting of South West Surrey Compass basically because I was intrigued and wanted to understand more. I soon after joined The Green Party as that was the group of individuals, policies and concerns I felt most aligned with.
In 2019, along with my Green Party colleague Gary Lloyd, I stood as a paper candidate, and we became the first elected Green Party councillors on Haslemere Town Council. Despite the surprise of being elected, Gary and I led on and lobbied fellow councillors to have the council declare a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency and I now chair the subsequent committee. Our most current work stream on that is spearheading a Biodiversity Baseline Audit of all town council-owned green spaces.
When I was first elected in 2019, I knew there was work to be done but few of us could've predicted the deeply serious nature of what was about to happen. When the pandemic struck, I collaborated with then-Surrey County Councillor Nikki Barton, the local Volunteer bureau and other community members to establish haslemerehelp which matched community volunteers with community needs in terms of shopping, prescription collections and a whole host of other support requests. This was soon followed by the opening of the Haslemere Community Store generously hosted by Haslemere Hall. A disused Waverley community pavilion, now called Pathways, was repurposed as a Response Hub supported by Haslemere Town Council in a project that I led. And this particularly came into its own when Haslemere began hosting Ukrainian refugees as a first venue for language classes, also working with the Job Centre to help orientate our Ukrainian visitors to search for work, alleviating some of the practical and financial burden from their hosts. It is this local level thought and action I would hope to broaden on and apply to ever-changing situations in the country and beyond. The last few years have taught me that whatever we feel we've been elected to do there is still more than we can even imagine that may need to be done. Responsiveness is key.
My key areas of interest at both a local and national level are a socially just transition to a green economy, properly funded research and implementation of clean, green energy, the protection of our biodiversity, clean water for human life and wildlife, a national sustainable transport agenda and a holistic, inclusive approach to education for all ages. Homes and health often go hand-in-hand and I would work towards decent homes for all and a National Health Service with healthcare provided free at the point of need funded through taxation.
2017-2021 Secretary of South West Surrey Compass
2021-present Steering Group member of South West Surrey Compass
2019-2023 Haslemere Town Councillor I am a member of Haslemere Town Council and sit on the Amenities, Community Infrastructure Levy and Climate and Biodiversity Emergency Committees. When I was first elected in 2019 I worked with and lobbied fellow councillors to have the council declare a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency and now chair the subsequent committee.
2023 to present Haslemere Town Councillor and Deputy Mayor
Family and Community Until redundancy in late 2019, I worked as a children and families worker in the voluntary and public sector in a variety of roles for 20 years, the last 9 of which were as Information, Advice and Guidance Officer at Tennyson's Sure Start Children's Centre. This meant that I developed a deep understanding of many of the issues and challenges that families face with parenting, childcare and education, and finances. Over this time I built positive trusting relationships with the parents and children that I worked with spanning many years due to my involvement in different community projects from Haslemere Young Parents (co-founded and facilitated by me in 2008) to my last role with Sure Start.
Writing skills I have written articles for professional magazines including Teach Early Years and Early Years Educator and have reviewed early years publications for Bloomsbury Education.
Up until 2010 I sat on the Independent Surrey Schools Appeals Panel, but had to stand down when I started working for Surrey County Council with Sure Start. I have recently been accepted back onto the Panel there. I contribute an article for the Haslemere Climate and Biodiversity Collective to The Haslemere Herald every 6 weeks.
Council experience I am a member of Haslemere Town Council and sit on the Amenities, Community Infrastructure Levy and Climate and Biodiversity Emergency Committees. When I was first elected in 2019 I worked with and lobbied fellow councillors to have the council declare a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency and now chair the subsequent committee.
Adaptability Whilst having no background or experience in the financial sector I have recently taken on the role of Counter Assistant at the local community Banking Hub, an innovative cash and banking service at the heart of the community.
Networking locally An active member of Transition Town Haslemere, I was a founder member of the Haslemere hub for Water Rangers and also a founding member of the Haslemere Climate and Biodiversity Collective.