Hello! I am Kay Wesley - the first ever Women's Equality Party candidate for Cheshire East and Congleton Council elections in May.

Full statement

This will be the first time that residents in Congleton have had the opportunity to vote for the Women’s Equality Party. Equality is not a zero-sum game - when women achieve their potential, we all benefit. I have spoken to women and men in the local area who tell me that the social infrastructure we all depend on needs investment and prioritisation - healthcare, social care, childcare, public transport, are all depleted and needing focus from the local council. These will be my priorities.

I am Chief Executive of a Congleton-based international digital business and have lived in Congleton for more than thirty years. I have been a School Governor, a Beaver Scout Leader and worked with Congleton Amateur Youth Theatre.

It will be an honour to represent the area that I have called home all my adult life and where I have raised my children. Both Congleton and Cheshire East need a voice that will champion local services, which have been cut to the bone in recent years. We believe that the only way to get real change is to have councillors from outside the establishment of the mainstream political parties.

The Women’s Equality Party is a bipartisan, collaborative force and as such I will work with others on both councils to invest in our local community.

Local healthcare such as the War Memorial Hospital Minor Injuries Unit, affordable childcare and domestic abuse service funding will be high on my agenda.

Whilst we are seeing investment in local physical infrastructure such as housing and roads, we believe it is equally important to invest in social infrastructure to support the health, wellbeing and prosperity of the people of Congleton and Cheshire East.

I’ve spent many months now talking to residents in Congleton and have been working hard to understand the issues that matter most to local people. My policies have been driven by what I’ve been told by this community and over coming weeks I will be posting more details of our policies and campaign goals.

Kay