I hope to represent the interests of all the people of Carisbrooke and Gunville, whether those needs are great or small. Our Island could be a beacon of sustainability, balancing economic necessity with community need and respect for our environment.
I know that Carisbrooke and Gunville isn’t typical Labour territory, but I would like to bring a different kind of politics to our Ward. We’ve had a Conservative councillor here since 2009, not resident in the area with no real connection to or interest in our local needs and aspirations.
I live in the Ward, many of you have probably seen me around, leading the ukulele group at the Summer Fayre at the Eight Bells in 2019, running the group who meet (met…) weekly at the Waverley Inn on a Monday evening, singing silly songs at the Waverley Folk Evenings.
I would like to invite any of you to talk to me about the things that matter where you are, in Carisbrooke and Gunville and the countryside beyond. On Clatterford Road the main issues that I’ve picked up on are speeding cars, the hopeless state of the road and parking. One of my first priorities as your local member would be to be to start a dialogue with interested local people to decide what is wanted, and then with Island Roads to get the issues resolved.
But I’d like also to understand the problems that other areas of the Ward face, with a view to resolving local issues for local people, as a local myself.
I would like to let you know a bit more about me, about what I stand for, and how I go about things:
A year ago, feeling helpless, faced with a looming pandemic, with shortages in the shops, vulnerable people told to shield, but with no access to supermarket delivery slots… I felt I just had to do something. So I started the Clatterford Exchange Facebook group, dropped off leaflets along our road (and some nearby) inviting anyone who needed help to get in touch, and someone would be there for them. Mercifully, so far nobody’s needed help, but it’s been lovely to see things like the plant swapping and the development of more of a community locally.
Around about 6 years ago, faced with the cruelties of the Government’s ideological austerity campaign, the demonisation of the disabled and seemingly endless cuts to essential services…again, I had felt that I simply had to do something…
So I joined the Labour Party, because I saw in the party an organisation that puts Values ahead of Costs.