I am a carer, public servant (forensic scientist), trade union member, activist owner of 3 rescue cats.

Full statement

I was born in and grew up in Kings Hedges in a council home. I know the struggles of the working class because I live those struggles, unless you are a millionaire we are all struggling nowadays. Everything is broken and everything is more expensive. Britain is broken but not because of the migrants, it is broken due to decades of unequal wealth distribution and privatisation.
I am standing as an independent because I am fed up of the mainstream party councillors who do not live here, making decisions about us without involving or consulting us, behind closed doors. All they ever care about is showing up around election time for our vote. The other candidates just care about potholes and litter. Indeed, those are issues we need to fix but our issues in Kings Hedges go deeper than potholes and litter. Our issues are due to decades of austerity and deprivation. Kings Hedges is one of the many deprived wards in Cambridge. It is disheartening that we have high food bank usage, in a city tipped to be the next Silicon Valley by the PM. There is nowhere for the youth to play, learn new skills or make new friends. Many cats are run over and accidents happen due to careless driving in Kings Hedges. If elected, want to open a permanent youth club in the ward. I want more CCTV, lighting, and to repair potholes and cracked, uneven paving so that people feel safe getting around Kings Hedges and that cars aren’t subject to costly repairs. I want people to feel safe in and enjoy living in Kings Hedges, we need to thrive not just survive. I will hold regular people’s assemblies with the community so that we can have our say on the council of what we want for our ward. I will campaign for the Cambridge weighting (HCAS) and the real living wage to be increased. I will campaign for free bus passes for carers or disabled individuals and for reliable, green, cheaper public transport following the Greater Manchester ‘bee bus’ model, I believe we need more affordable homes so that children can buy near their parents to maintain that community spirit. If elected, will give Kings Hedges a local voice on the council, because we care about improving our communities more when we live in them.