Our Campaign
Independent MP Candidate for Tunbridge Wells
2024 General Election, July 4th
As a proud Brit who believes strongly in our democratic traditions, I'm deeply frustrated by how our politics is letting us down. People are struggling to make ends meet, communities and businesses lack support, and our country lacks a unifying vision.
Our politics is simply not working, and our government has failed to work in the public interest. They’ve overseen a housing crisis and directly contributed to rising inequality, a struggling NHS and broken social care, ineffective climate policies, and a world made less safe by conflicts abroad. The British public has been treated with contempt, and a huge gap of mistrust has opened up between our elected politicians and UK citizens. Faith in our politics can only be restored when the British public is properly valued as a vital part of our democracy.
This is why I’ve decided to run as an Independent in Tunbridge Wells. I've lost trust in the ability of any political party to solve even some of these challenges. I know I can’t solve these problems alone, but together, as members of the public, we can. It’s time to build a bold, democratic platform that can deliver the change, prosperity, and social justice our country needs. Our democracy won’t be handed to us—it’s up to you and me to fight for it. It’s time to get active and make sure our politics, democracy, and economy work for us all.
“I will set up local citizens' assemblies and forums to hear your concerns and ideas and involve you in creating the change we want to see”
Over the last three years, I worked at a national charity, promoting a new kind of policymaking that centred on public participation. We showed how we can involve the public in shaping the decisions that affect their lives, creating people-powered policy solutions for health and social care. As your representative, my first priority will be to serve as your voice in Parliament. I will set up local citizens' assemblies and forums to hear your concerns and ideas and involve you in creating the change we want to see.
UK economic prosperity is about more than GDP growth. Success isn’t just a figure in a spreadsheet. It is about tangible differences and valuable outcomes that can be made to people’s lives. This is why I’m in favour of using the Human Development Index as the principle metric of progress.
We can’t keep having businesses take largely untaxed profits while our energy bills soar, national rail is overcrowded and overpriced, and raw sewage is discharged into our rivers.
Instead we can inject productive and sustainable growth into the UK economy through a Green New Deal with democratic public ownership of energy, water, rail and mail. This will help reduce energy bills, protect our environment, and rejuvenate British industry with new jobs in renewable energy.
Big business and global monopolies have drained the life from our high streets and town shopping malls. We need proper incentives and support for local entrepreneurs and businesses to thrive. Shockingly, just 17% of fruit and 55% of vegetables consumed in the UK are grown here. We should fully back and support independent British farmers and reduce our reliance on foreign imports.
We can all see that the NHS is on its knees. Having worked on delivering people-centred solutions to our crisis in health and care, I know just how much we all value our NHS and want to see a long-term plan with adequate funding. That’s why I’m taking the NHS pledge.
“I welcome the public consultation for a 2040 vision for Tunbridge Wells, but we also need hyper-local visions to help rejuvenate areas like High Brooms and Paddock Wood”
We cannot allow property developers to sit idle on empty land and accrue profit during a housing crisis. I will work to build truly affordable housing that meets the needs of local people and families. This includes building social housing to make sure people no longer have to face astronomical rents. I personally know the difficulties young families face in their search for a home. Last year my wife and I wanted to buy our first family home in Tunbridge Wells but found it simply unaffordable. My first step will be to review Brownfield and Greyfield land for potential housing developments, ensuring we protect our Green Belt and Kent’s Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. I grew up in Kent’s beautiful towns and countryside, and I’m committed to protecting our natural and built environment for future generations.
I will work on sustainable planning to solve the problems of overcrowding and congestion in Tunbridge Wells. These issues require district-wide coordinated planning, not just money spent on gentrifying town centres. I will also collaborate with KCC to reduce traffic disruption by making roadworks more efficient.
I welcome the public consultation for a 2040 vision for Tunbridge Wells, but we also need hyper-local visions to help rejuvenate other areas in our borough like High Brooms and Paddock Wood. This would be ideal for citizens' assemblies made up of people from those communities to lead the way.
When it comes to social mobility and education, I understand how the odds can be stacked against children from struggling families, having experienced hidden poverty myself growing up in Kent. I will champion the most vulnerable in our society and work to reverse government cuts to benefits, which shouldn’t have been made during rising living costs. The Tunbridge Wells community food bank ‘Nourish’ reported 2022-2023 as its busiest year ever, citing that the biggest reason for referrals (26%) was “due to benefit changes which often left clients in a payment limbo, waiting for the system to catch up”. We must ensure that food banks are properly subsidised so they can continue providing an invaluable service for people struggling to afford the basics.
Community organisations and initiatives on the ground understand the problems people are facing and are best placed to offer support. That’s why I’m proposing the creation of local ‘Community Hubs’ where local services, organisations, businesses, and people can come together to create bottom-up solutions that work.
“I have consistently campaigned for the UK government to back a ceasefire in Gaza and halt arms sales to Israel”
Finally, I stand for the rule of international law, human rights, as defined in the UN Charter. I have consistently campaigned for the UK government to back a ceasefire in Gaza and halt arms sales to Israel. Peace can only be secured on the basis of self-determination and equal rights for all. The international community must create a platform for both Palestinians and Israelis to decide on a political resolution on this basis.
It’s remarkable that our government is willing to ignore the overwhelming majority of the public who support a ceasefire, and risk UK complicity in genocide. The money wasted on constant interventions abroad has resulted in spectacular failures, serving neither the interests of the British public nor the populations involved. These forever-wars have only increased the UK national security threat, immigration and refugee numbers – and the cost of living. We should instead focus on securing peace and prosperity where we can and spend our taxes on the NHS. Let’s save lives here, rather than sell weapons used to destroy lives abroad.