Five years ago, having served my community as town councillor since 1998, I decided to stand for Dorset Council the new unitary authority.

Full statement

I have been and remain committed to the town and community I grew up in and which I have lived in for most of my life. Throughout adulthood I have been actively involved in many forms of volunteering within the community and I have also served as a retained firefighter in Ferndown for the past 30 years.

Over the past five years I have worked tirelessly for the town and our residents. This is often involves long days and dealing with issues from first thing in the morning through to the evening - it’s not uncommon to be burning the midnight oil.

I’m proud of what I and my fellow ward councillor, Cathy Lugg have achieved over this time. It’s not always smooth sailing and we have faced many challenges along the way however we have always managed to the the job done.

Whilst people will concentrate on the things we can shout about such as potholes and rubbish collections… the majority of our work is dealing with the more sensitive and complex social issues that we can’t talk about.

We have some exciting times ahead of us, particularly seeing the fruition of the regeneration of the town centre which we have fought hard to get back on the plan and to obtain funding. We now need to see this project through to the end.

I’ve been asked many times why I’ve not stood as an independent councillor and in the current climate this question is even more pertinent. Like most people in the country I am fed up with national politics, but I stand to be re-elected purely to ensure we look after local people as part of a group that has a proven record of getting the best for the residents of the Dorset Council area.

Cathy and I are currently pounding the pavements delivering our leaflets to all homes within the ward - if you spot us, please stop us for a chat!

Please support Cathy and I with your vote on 2nd May