As an IT Consultant, I have worked for some of the biggest global names in finance, retail, and manufacturing.

Full statement

I moved to Swindon twenty years ago, and currently live with Bunny the lurcher, who I met while volunteering for the SN Dogs rescue charity.

As chair of the Hreod Burna Urban Forest charity, I care passionately about the natural environment. I believe that we have a duty of care for the world around us, and that people benefit enormously from having easy access to green spaces.

But it wasn’t the Green Party’s environmental credentials that attracted me. I joined the Greens because they have always been committed to the real change needed to deliver the fairer, more just, society that I am striving for.

I will fight for strong public services. I grew up on a council estate, the first in my family to go to university. I will fight for more council houses, and better local schools, to give others the same opportunities that I had: A secure start in life, which is vital for everyone to reach their true potential, and lead rich and fulfilling lives.

I believe that those with the broadest shoulders should bear more of the financial burden, so we can invest to deliver real change for the country. Like investing in our NHS to shorten waiting lists and give everyone easier access to local doctors and dentists.

It was my beliefs as a Humanist that drew me to the Green Party. The commitment to fundamental change for the elimination of inequality and for a more just society made it the obvious choice. No other party has the same long-term view or the willingness to embrace the real changes required to deliver it. The same was true of our environmental policies.

Again and again, our policies have been proven right, like our Green New Deal that would have saved thousands of families in Swindon from fuel poverty during the recent cost of living crisis. They are policies that I truly believe in, and I want to make sure that the people of Swindon get to hear them.

Too often, the old parties abandon honesty and integrity in favour of short-term self-interest. Greens stand up for what they believe in. I want to fight a positive campaign, being open and honest about the challenges we face and laying out the practical, forward-thinking solutions that the Green Party has been proposing for years.

Underpinning everything I do will be the passion for a fair and just society where every person is valued, cared for and listened to.