I grew up in Bridlington and Scarborough and have lived in many places in the UK until returning to East Yorkshire in 2015.
I think as a child I was always mindful of and fascinated by the environment and the natural world but perhaps like many people as I charged into adulthood I became more focused on working, building a stable home and providing for my family.
Now I feel the time has come to stand up and be counted. Sadly, I think in our society economics has become more important than quality of life, with many people forced into unfulfilling and stressful roles just to survive with no clear alternatives.
Housing is one of the most important issues for me. I believe that having a safe, secure and comfortable place to live is a basic human right.
I think it’s time to think outside the box to solve some of our problems. Relying on big building companies whose motivation is profit needs to be a thing of the past. We could be inventive and creative and discover new ways to produce homes in existing neighbourhoods on a small scale, using sustainable local materials, labour and other resources such as supporting companies that want to redesign existing properties and create affordable housing.
There are many successful community and co-housing schemes throughout the country and I would like to be part of a local team to study and learn from them and see how we could incorporate these ideas into a housing and planning strategy.
I believe that most of the issues we face today are connected to each other. Housing, transport, food security, social inequality and environmental problems are all closely linked.
Of course nothing is going to be fixed overnight but If we start to address one issue and move in the right direction, then we can create a new energy and enthusiasm that carries through communities driving positive change.
For example, some rural communities have built their own renewable energy sources, reducing their own energy bills, reducing their impact on the planet and breaking their reliance on super-rich carbon based companies. This kind of idea needs support and encouragement from local government and private enterprise.
I am new to politics and full of passion to drive positive change. Of course I have my own opinions but I would really like to listen carefully to the views and the needs of local people so the right services can be prioritised and delivered to the right places. I think people have more power than they realise and if we can tap into the wealth of experience and talent that exists in our communities and agree to work together we can create a fairer and more resilient society with an improved quality of life.
