We all know that the next general election is going to be crucial for our country.

Full statement

So it’s an honour for me to have been chosen as the Liberal Democrat candidate for North Devon. I love this area and feel lucky to have brought up my family here after being posted to Chivenor by the RAF in 1989. I’m a bluff Yorkshireman who has made Barnstaple my home for the last 34 years, during which time I’ve served my community through work, local politics and fundraising.

I came here by chance but I’ve stayed here by choice.

I’m hoping to represent the people of North Devon in Westminster and to make their voices heard. Having worked in healthcare and housing, I understand the pressures that people face.

I have served the community in my charity work and in Barnstaple by being an elected councillor, at town, district and county level. I see North Devon is facing enormous challenges and we are currently being let down, due to the cost of living crisis, the lack of political action to protect our environment and the shortage of affordable housing and opportunities. We need better paid jobs and the right training for our young people.

According to a recent social mobility report from Exeter University, there is an absence of a strong political voice at the national level advocating on behalf of the region, unlike, for example, the Northern Powerhouse movement. Instead, politicians here believe things are “fine”. I want to challenge this and ensure that I am North Devon’s voice in Parliament and not Parliament’s voice in North Devon.

Housing is something I feel passionately about, and it’s one where the people of North Devon are being let down, victims of the rising market for second homes and holiday lets. Second homes have left some coastal villages such as Croyde, Mortehoe and Georgeham like ghost towns in the winter, but full to bursting in the summer.

I pledge a sincere commitment to serve the constituency of North Devon, the place my children were born and the area I love.