I was born and raised in Walthamstow.

Full statement

was educated at Kelmscott School on Markhouse Road, learned to kick a football and ride a bike over St James Park and have lived at both ends of the ward. I work as a trade union organiser, fighting for social and economic justice for some of London’s most precariously employed and vulnerable public sector workers.

Growing up in our bit of Walthamstow has shaped my values and made me the person I am today, and it would be an incredible privilege to have the chance to represent you as your councillor and bring those values to Waltham Forest Town Hall.

I'm proud of the Waltham Forest Labour's record in our community:

• Regularly putting the borough in the top 5 for council house builders in the country (this is particularly important to me as a young person who's grown up in the borough and seen so many of my friends struggle with the choice between staying with their community or moving somewhere affordable)
• Delivering a brand new health centre for our community at Jazz Yard near St James Street
• Protecting and supporting local businesses, for example stepping in to keep CRATE St James open
• Proactively working with the police and other partners to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour in our community, whether that's knife crime affecting our young people, phone snatching at Blackhorse Road and St James stations or parcel theft across our ward

I promise if I'm elected in May, I will work tirelessly to serve and support our community.