I am retired and now disabled and seriously concerned about how seniors and disabled people’s needs are not being adequately addressed in our city.

Full statement

Sadly, all the miles clocked up marathon-running led to hip problems and I am disabled with a blue badge while awaiting operations on both hips.

Always run on soft ground!

Seniors and disabled people get a raw deal and much improvement is needed to enrich their lives. This is why I have taken the difficult decision to stand as Independent in this election.

I lack the finance for glossy election addresses and have few helpers but I stand for what I firmly believe – seniors and disabled people deserve much better than they currently receive.

The strategy of Brighton and Hove library service is to make changes very rapidly this summer that will diminish certain library facilities for seniors and disabled residents and other groups too, such as young people.

Following public consultation to come, three local libraries will have to close and others face opening hours cuts.

These changes will save little money while impacting significantly on seniors and disabled people.

In the overall financial picture, this saves peanuts for the council while hitting seniors and disabled people hard.

I also realise and appreciate the many shortcomings in council services more generally.

For example, there are insufficient disabled parking bays given the rising number of disabled people of Brighton and Hove – and access to buildings and buses can be a nightmare with limited mobility.

I never expected to be disabled myself as I was fit and it came as a massive shock when, in 2019, I suddenly could not walk properly.

This has worsened until now when I am desperate for both hips to be replaced. I now realise ageing brings health issues you never anticipate when you are young.

What we see happening to seniors now might happen to you later in life.

As an Independent Councillor for Westbourne and Poets Corner, I will work for seniors in our city, for disabled people and for the wider population. There is much work to do.

Please think of voting for me. Traditional political parties have failed us. More Independent councillors are being elected across Brighton for that reason.

Rachel Reeves’s further attack on benefits shows Labour to be little better than the Conservatives with their austerity cuts that got the UK into the present financial mess.