BIO

I'm one of the Green Party District Councillors for Wotton-under-Edge, North Nibley & Stinchcombe, Gloucestershire, UK, elected on 2nd May 2024. I serve on the Audit & Standards Committee and the Gloucestershire Police & Crime Panel.

I'm well known in Wotton-under-Edge as the (now retired) owner of Cookability. I originally come from rural South Wales, moving to Wotton in 2001 before being drawn to Stroud by its reputation as a “hotbed of political activism”.

Three years on Wotton Town Council in the early 2000s gave me experience I can draw on as a district councillor. I'm an active volunteer with Stroud Against Racism and involved in scrutiny at Gloucestershire Constabulary, where I've developed an excellent working relationship with senior officers. I'm comfortable holding authority to account with dogged determination.

Proportional representation is a cause I strongly support, because the present system favours the main parties. When I was elected, Gloucestershire's six MPs were all Conservative and white.

Much more decision-making power needs to be devolved from Westminster to the local level. I'm also a supporter of Yes Cymru, the campaign for an independent Wales.

The Green Party's ethos resonates with me—an economy rooted in sustainability and the pursuit of social progress, rather than economic growth above all else.

Before running Cookability, I worked in IT and still enjoy working with tech. I'm an advocate of open-source software, with little time for US Big Tech. Check out the tech that I use and support.

Cooking and DIY fill my spare time, alongside my long-time support for Forest Green Rovers (both my children were FGR ambassadors).