As a carer in our community who has lived here for over 20 years, I have seen how things have got tougher and tougher over that time.

Full statement

Whether it is cuts to bin collections, potholes in the road, or struggling to get an appointment at a doctor or dentist, the public services we rely on are coming apart at the seams.

Meanwhile, Council Tax goes up and up, piling more pressure on all of us as the cost-of-living crisis bites. This year's record-breaking hike of 9.5% in Flintshire's Council Tax - the biggest in the county's history - feels like an insult when we see less and less for it.

That's why I'm standing in this by-election. I've never been involved in politics before, but I know what fair looks like, and this isn't it. I see first-hand the consequences of cuts to services and huge Council Tax rises every day, at work and on my own family, and I believe we can do better.

I have always been someone who gets involved, like serving as the treasurer of the Parent-Teacher Association at my son's school, and if you elect me, you have my commitment - I will show up and do the job.

I will fight for you. I will fight for every penny the Council has to be spent on solving real problems, like tackling flooding in Leeswood & Pontblyddyn, and getting the basics right, like fixing potholes, collecting the bins on time, and giving our children the best possible education. To do that, I will target the waste we all know exists - and which Flintshire People's Voice has already found hundreds of thousands of pounds of examples.

I will vote against extortionate increases in Council Tax.

Things can get better. For too long, the big parties at Westminster, and the Labour-Independent coalition at Flintshire, have accepted what they call 'managed decline'. I don't wany any more of that for our home, and I don't think you do either.