My wife Heather and I moved here 9 years ago when we wanted to buy our first house together. We chose Wokingham because it offered us everything our young and growing family needs. We liked the community atmosphere, leisure facilities and shopping centre, friendly local people, great schools, the beautiful natural environment and easy access to the motorway!
Wokingham was exactly the right choice for us and, having settled in, I decided I wanted to get more involved in the future of our community.
My first engagement in local politics was working with my neighbours on our new housing estate to press the developers to provide what they promised, particularly in relation to road safety and our new school. Local Conservative councillors were really helpful and this encouraged me to want to do what they did and make a difference.
I was born the day Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister and grew up as the son of a bank manager. As a result I have always been interested in politics and I’ve always been a Conservative. I believe in helping others to be able to help themselves. I value innovation, creativity, ideas and aspiration and applaud ambition, as well as generosity, kindness and empathy. I believe in teaching people how to fish, rather than simply giving them a fish. I like to challenge convention, but also value tradition and community, and I believe strongly in sound financial planning and management and the clear truth that you can’t spend your way out of debt.
I like the diversity of thought in the Conservative Party. Since I joined I have been welcomed by people of all ages, professions and backgrounds and have always been encouraged to share my views, and share the perspectives of others.
I decided to stand for election and become one of the decision makers at the Council because I have two small children and I want to ensure that our community, and our environment, is ready for them to inherit when they become adults. I want to ensure borough residents are getting the best value for services possible, and I want to ensure that we manage our finances and services wisely, to protect them for future generations.
At the count, I was thrilled and humbled to have won the election and to represent Norreys ward on the borough council. It was fantastic to realise that local people were trusting me to speak up for them and do my best to help them however possible. During my 4 years on the council I helped hundreds of individual folk in my ward.
As Association chairman I continue to be always ready to listen to concerns and offer assistance with issues. My contact details are on the left.
I'm passionate about conserving the environment and protecting our beautiful borough. I was the Executive Member for Climate Emergency from May 2019 to May 2022, very busy with green initiatives and putting carbon reduction on the agenda of every council project. I'm very proud of all that was achieved in these early days of the journey to being net carbon neutral by 2030. There is so much more that we can do and my enthusiasm is boundless for getting every resident onboard to reduce our carbon footprint.
I have two children who attend Montague Primary. I play box and run, and very much support the expansion of local leisure and fitness facilities. I would encourage everyone to get more active and make the most of the green spaces on our doorstep. I am often to be found walking my dog around the borough and I am always happy to stop for a chat while out on a run/walk to hear your views and discuss any concerns. If you see me out and about - please feel free to say hello!
