As some of you will know I have decided to stand as a candidate in the upcoming local election.

Full statement

I'm sure many of you will be wondering what the hell I think I'm doing....why would anyone want to be a local Councillor?

Well, for me it is a chance to give back to a community that I have lived in for nearly 20 years but which I have been enjoying since my first visit when I was just 7 years old.

I grew up in East Sussex where I was educated and started my career. I spent 13 years working for The Post Office where I reached the dizzy heights of managing the largest branch in the area. I then spent 4 years as General Manager of a transport refrigeration company where I managed to turn them from a loss making company to one which produced a decent annual profit as well as being a fun place to work.

My girlfriend and I then took the bold decision to sell our house and leave the rat race. So, we sold up and worked a ski season in Switzerland before spending a couple of months travelling around Italy.

After our return to Blighty we went our separate ways and I came down to Scilly to stay with my parents, who had moved over here in the mid 90s, working for my sister at Carn Vean cafe. After a couple of years working summers here and winters in Switzerland, I made the decision to live here permanently. I took a full time job working for the local fuel merchants and spent 10 happy years getting to know the islands as an islander. I then worked for the Skybus Shuttle, and now I work for myself as a gardener/handyman which gives me the chance to spare some time for local office.

What will I bring to the Council? I'd like to think that I can bring some common sense, as well as relevant experience, to the role of Councillor. I have experience, with The Post Office, of large Government owned institutions, and I believe I have a good understanding of what concerns our residents. Adult Social Care is a massive issue for the whole country but I believe it is exacerbated in our small community. I have first hand knowledge of the standard of care and the problems we face here in Scilly. Both of my parents spent their last years here, and both of them received care from our local Council, my father having spent his final years in Park House.

I am also very aware of the housing issues we face, having personally lived at about 15 different addresses in my 19 years here. I would like to think we could create more local housing as well as ensuring the available housing is put to the best use by working closely with private landlords such as The Duchy of Cornwall. However, we also need to make sure that our major industry, tourism, does not suffer. The problems with travel have been well documented, especially on social media, and I would hope that the Council could support new and existing businesses in this area to ensure our vital connections to the mainland are improved for our visitors as well as our residents.

Finally, I look forward to finding out more about the Smart Islands Project in order to understand the potential benefits. I am sure I am not alone in being somewhat confused and concerned about what it's all about!!

Please feel free to approach me with any questions and I will do my best to answer them.

Please do use your right to vote in this local election and I would be delighted to receive your vote to give me the chance to give something back to these beautiful islands we all share.