Born in Surrey.

Full statement

Grew up in colonial southern Africa from the age of six. Returned aged 18 to seek training as a commercial pilot. Flew wartime Dakotas and a variety of jet airliners with 22 years in command, including 12 years checking fellow pilots. My wife and I live on the Downs in this beautiful constituency. Our two surviving children have blessed us with grandchildren and, living nearby, regular grandparent duties! Our son runs his own architectural visualisation business in the constituency.

Having attended Airbus courses in Toulouse, my first retirement project was in France, supervising the building of a holiday home under the attendant bureaucracy. Keen supporter of Anglo-European cooperation which, in the case of Airbus with its British wings, predates our joining the EEC in 1972, I nevertheless tired of the apparent disdain in which the UK was regarded by European elites. Disappointing, considering our unique contributions to European unity in two world wars and our honesty in EU membership.

Similarly disenchanted with the Tories under David Cameron, I joined UKIP in 2015 to campaign in the General Election and the 2016 Referendum. Dismayed with parliamentary prevarication on Brexit and the collapse of UKIP, I joined the Brexit Party in 2019 and campaigned in the European Elections. Our overwhelming victory toppled Mrs May’s premiership and in the subsequent General Election we stood down half our candidates, allowing Boris Johnson his 80-seat majority to “get Brexit done”.

Nevertheless, Brexit is yet to be completed or exploited by this craven government. It and HM Opposition contain a majority of diehard Remainers. We live in a dis-United Kingdom with Northern Ireland’s domestic and international trade controlled by Brussels, our fisheries open to foreign exploitation, and a European court dictating how we protect our borders and sovereignty. Net immigration, which Tory manifestos have long promised to reduce to the tens of thousands, is two-thirds of a million annually. That tens of thousands arriving from the safety of France - mainly anonymous young males seeking a better life - are assisted to violate the UK border by our own Border Force, while British citizens queue at Passport Control, is a national disgrace. And, at that moment, the injustice and cost to us all is just beginning.

A “Conservative” administration has, during 14 years in office, presided over a steady decline in our country. Law and order have broken down and intolerant minority groups allowed to seize control of our everyday lives. Increasingly authoritarian and egged on by all the opposition parties, this government abandoned pandemic planning, locking the country down three times, closing schools unnecessarily and trying to mandate experimental vaccines under bogus pretences.

Without public consultation or the possibility of any significant effect on world CO2 emissions, HMG has been imposing a calamitous, "Net Zero" energy policy based on intermittent wind and solar, while failing to plan or provide back-up from home-sourced fossil fuels and nuclear. Forcing cash-strapped families to install expensive, unsuitable heat-pump systems, and banning fossil-fuel powered vehicles for personal and business use is illiberal and authoritarian. Energy prices for ordinary people have soared and the economy suffers, while virtually all our manufacturing has been outsourced to hostile, totalitarian China, the world’s greatest polluter. The title of its recently created Department of Energy Security and Net Zero is a risible contradiction in terms.

Still suffering the long-term effects of family isolations and school closures under Lockdown, children many years below the age of consent have been encouraged to pronounce their sexuality and even question their sex. Like the Leader of the Opposition, my Tory MP, when asked, was unable to define a woman. Femininity has been insulted and its fundamental characteristics denied by some men under a government that claims to be conservative but has deferred to the "woke" mind virus. Recruitment to our dangerously depleted armed forces has prioritised criteria of diversity, equity and inclusion over aptitude and potential.

NHS bureaucracy, inefficiency and wastage have increased, as have waiting lists. The dominance of foreign-trained staff in our health and care services and their low levels of pay reflect the failure to motivate and train our own school leavers, many of whom accumulate debt pursuing university courses of little or no use in a future career instead of vocational training. Personal taxation, particularly for low-income earners, encourages many to stay at home on benefit. The recent rise in corporation tax discourages investment in medium-size companies, negating the traditional Tory claim to be pro-business.

We East Surrey residents face all the above problems. Local issues include increased theft and assault. Our green spaces are under threat because of housing shortages caused by the immigration-driven rise in population, which is also overloading schools, transport, hospitals and other infrastructure. Waiting times at A&E are rising, and too many people are catching infections in hospital. As for the Surrey County Council, questions have been raised about the sale of its iconic Kingston HQ to developers for a knockdown price. It has allowed roads to deteriorate to a dangerous state, potentially fatal for cyclists.

There is much anger and dismay across the UK. But, let’s face it, if the July 4th election produces a Labour or Lib-Lab coalition government, we can expect all the above lunacy on steroids. And, if the Tories manage by some miracle to hang on to office, they will interpret it as a mandate simply to give us more of the same.

During this May, as they agonised over when to call a general election they are bound to lose, the Tories started to row back on some policies, and to try and mend the ship. Too late, Mr Sunak! Reform UK is the only party fielding candidates nationwide in the forthcoming general election that stands for common-sense and the legitimate aspirations of ordinary, decent people who no longer recognise their country. That’s why I am greatly privileged to be standing for Reform in my home constituency of East Surrey.

Reform UK is a new, underfunded party. We are short of volunteers to do the nitty-gritty of campaigning, such as leafleting and banging on doors. Whether or not you have already joined the party, if you can help with that or maybe provide a venue for meetings, please contact me by email.