I am delighted to be your Labour Parliamentary candidate for West Suffolk in the 2024 General Election.

Full statement

My professional background means I will hit the ground running as your MP for West Suffolk. I have worked in Whitehall, in Parliament and on Education policy at the Eastern Region’s Government Office, covering Suffolk.

I know how government works at all levels and how to represent and support the constituents of West Suffolk effectively.

More recently I’ve served as a Councillor supporting local people, and helping resolve their problems; and I will continue to serve the local community, through my regular constituency surgeries.

For me, being an elected politician isn’t about ego and ambition, but about being present in the constituency. I appreciate the responsibility and privilege it is to serve people here.

I’ve lived in East Anglia for 27 years and raised my boys here. West Suffolk is a beautiful area of the country but is not without its problems.

Meeting residents in Newmarket at All Saints Church’s Warm Hub, I learnt how youngsters with special needs, were losing out on the support they, and their families, need to build a basic quality of life, and not just an existence.

I am highly concerned that there is no post 16 years provision in Newmarket and a real scarcity of public transport options to get youngsters to alternative sites, independently.

I’ve visited the proposed site for the biodigester at Haverhill and am appalled at the plans that are so inappropriate for the area, and offer absolutely no benefit to the residents. It’s environmental vandalism and I reject it.

We are facing an unprecedented cost of living crisis; in addition, many local councils have been starved by The Conservatives, for more than a decade, of the financial necessities to ensure the basic minimum of service.

Local Councillors at West Suffolk Council (WSC), have committed to supporting the local community facing this issue, to the tune of more than £450 000.

Local councils are having to plug the gaps in provision, left by 14 years of the Tory governments starving local communities of their support to fully function.

Similarly, national government has been incapable of keeping the UK’s roads in working order.

Pot-holes are big problem for this rural constituency, and the majority Conservative County Council has simply not done enough to ensure that local people are safe on the roads.

Health, Education and the provision of Public Transport are also key targets for the Party and for Rebecca. We promise to deliver nationally and locally on these pledges.