All General Elections are important, but this one feels more important than most.

Full statement

Access to services such as healthcare have become a lottery, the high cost of living is compounded by high taxation, key Climate Change targets based on solid scientific evidence are being quietly dropped. Beyond our shores, the world is a less stable, less secure place. Previously friendly nations look less reliable while disagreements with others multiply. I believe that divisive party politics is not the best way to address these problems. As your Independent MP I won’t be bound to any party line, I will be free to work in the best interests of residents on every issue, and able to ensure that local concerns are always taken into account.

I grew up in Scarborough and came South to read Physics at the University of Kent. I studied molecular liquids for my PhD using the experimental reactors at Harwell and the Institute Laue Langevin in Grenoble. After completing my thesis I joined the MOD working on the development of new land and air systems at Fort Halstead and Farnborough. My work included the development of combat simulations to support procurement decisions. I became a Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 1999 and transferred to the DTI to lead a review of the Research Councils and Project Manage the successful £250 Diamond Synchrontron bid to Treasury. I attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in 2003 and my final appointment was as Director for Technology and Industrial Policy in the forerunner of the UK Space Agency.

I initially became involved in local government to help prepare the Crawley Down Neighbourhood Plan. I was elected to Mid Sussex District Council in 2019 and re-elected in 2023. I lead the Council's Independent Group and have been the Cabinet portfolio holder for Sustainable Economy and Housing in a joint Lib Dem/Independent administration for the past year. I was also elected to West Sussex County Council in 2021 as an Independent for East Grinstead and Crawley Down. At WSCC, I sit on the Performance and Finance Scrutiny Committee and the Planning Committee. I am also a member of East Grinstead Town Council so I am the elected representative for my residents across all three tiers of local government. This means that my residents can bring any problem with local government to me. tThe problems that my residents seek my help for most are the lack of doctors appointments, the quality of social housing, delays in the processing of EHCPs, and insufficient school places. I have seen the anxiety that these problems create and improving these services will be a priority for me as an MP.