From Hertford to the House of Commons
Hertford and Stortford is my home
I was raised in Hertford, my mum taught at local schools before becoming a Special Educational Needs Coordinator and my dad lives just outside of Bishop’s Stortford, commuting into London like many of our residents.
My life has been shaped by our community: from attending our local schools to my first job was in Hertford town centre.
Local support saved me
I know what it’s like to be a young person and worry about your future. When I dropped out of sixth form at age 17, I felt completely directionless. I was incredibly fortunate to have supportive family and friends around me, and it was our local youth workers and young people’s organisations that helped to show me that I could turn my life around and make a difference for others too.
After 13 years of Tory government, many young people in the same position today sadly won’t have access to the same support or opportunities that I had and find the path that’s right for them. Our young people are the future of our community, but relentless Tory cuts to education and youth services mean that fewer are reaching their potential and more are slipping through the cracks - I’m determined to see this reversed.
I’ve made it my mission to give back to the community that’s given me so much
In 2023, it’s not just young people worrying about the future. Our residents are facing a spiralling cost of living, our businesses are struggling, and our charities are seeing higher demand for their services with fewer volunteers available to meet the need, and all of this with crumbling public services and an escalating climate crisis. When I go out into our community and speak to these groups, they share the same belief: Britain is broken. For our residents, things have been getting worse, not better, and the last 14 years of Tory government have done nothing about it.
I joined the Labour Party because I genuinely believe in politics as a force for good. I’ve made it my mission to give back to the community that’s given me so much, working to deliver the change our residents need, supporting local residents’ campaigns, and now representing Hertford and Stortford in Parliament.