Who am I? I was born in Epping in July 1961, making me 62 years old.

Full statement

Since 2002, I have lived in the same house in Shudy Camps, which was previously in the South East Cambridgeshire constituency but is now part of South Cambridgeshire due to boundary changes.

In 1994, I co-founded a law firm that now has offices in London and Guildford, employs 70 people, and has been owned by an employee ownership trust since 2021. My family and I also run a small chain of hotels in Surrey.

I enjoy playing cricket, golf, hockey, real tennis, squash, and tennis. I am a QPR season ticket holder and a member of Chatham House, a non-political think tank.

Why am I standing?

Westminster has become a refuge for the ambitious party faithful to the exclusion of those from other backgrounds. Rather than reflect their constituents wishes, MPs tend to spout a party line. Rather than acknowledge the wisdom of the arguments of their opponents’ policies, many MPs seem to delight in point scoring.

Politics is now aggressive, confrontational and embarrassingly childish/rude.

The people should be given a chance to show the main parties that they want “none of the above”.

What do I offer?

I can bring wisdom to Westminster from three decades experience of working in the SME sector.

On many questions, I am not ashamed to admit “I do not have the basic factual knowledge to express any opinion whatsoever”. Usually, I need to find out the facts and think rationally about what I have discovered.

MPs need to view each suggestion from whichever part of the political spectrum on its merits not on the basis of who made that suggestion. MPs should assess each topic on the basis of what constituents might want rather than what the party Whips ordain.

How can we improve the country?

The Government spends about £1.2 trillion each year (which is rather more than it raises in tax). That equates to over £40,000 per household or over £10,000 per person. MPs should do everything in their power to make sure that the money is fairly raised from all taxpayers and wisely spent.

● I have never voted for any candidates from any of the three main parties. However, I think that there are people with talents in all political parties and each of the main parties has some good ideas, values and beliefs.

● MPs ought to work for the median national wage (about £32,000 rather than £91,000). If I were elected, I would donate the difference of £59,000 to local charities.

● MPs should be barred from standing for the same constituency ten years after they were first Elected.

● No MP should be elevated to the House of Lords on retirement and a significant political donation should be render the donor ineligible for a peerage. The House of Lords needs radical overhaul.

● Members of the House of Peers (as the House of Lords could be re-named) could be drawn from mass membership organisations (such as the National Trust) and centres of excellence (such as universities, sport and business).

My standards:

I follow guidelines for any candidate wishing to join The IndependenT Platform. These guidelines can be found here - https://independent-platform.co.uk/become-an-mp/