I am standing as the London Representative, but you all get to vote for me, no matter where you are in the country. I was elected to the London Borough of Waltham Forest in 2018 and have not looked back since. As the Ward Chairman for Endlebury, Chingford I was able to contribute to the selection process in 2018, where I appointed Waltham Forest’s youngest candidate, I am pleased to say he was elected and has made great strides in the area. I took a chance on him, despite more experienced colleagues telling me he was too young. I believe in nurturing and encouraging talent, age should not be a barrier.
Whilst I am an avid campaigner who has done everything from saving a green space, which the Council wanted to develop over, to introducing a children’s outdoor classroom, carved from wooden trucks, (from trees felled in the local area), it is important to me that you know what I can do for you and that I recognise the importance of the Young Conservatives.
Young Conservatives have played a key part in modernising the party, through the use of social media and introducing new campaigning platforms to the party like TikTok. Social media is a movement the party was too late and too slow at adopting it and now we are playing catch up. We need you!
I have been on the CCA Board for 2 years and I have been able to work with the CCA team to increase our social media presence and to raise the profile of Councillors and candidates in the process. The CCA started retweeting and sharing posts, telling stories of Councillors and candidates from all around the Country. And I was also able to introduce the Covid Heroes Facebook campaign. As a board member, I have also rolled out Social Media training. However, as I am able to speak to Councillors up and down the country, it is safe to say that there is still a lot more to be done, therefore we need to be more engaging of Young Conservatives.
If elected I have promised to:
- Build on the CCA training programme
Our modernisation programme must continue, all around the Country. Everyone should be armed with the campaign skills they need to win elections no matter where you are in the Country.
- Introduce a programme where the CCA identifies Councillors who want to progress to be MPs
Councillors often have the skills required to be an MP. The CCA needs to build on its development programme allowing the very talented amongst us to progress, so the Party has a solid talent pool for elections.
- Review the selection process
The Selection Process needs to be fair and transparent to all members. Being new or having less years in the game, should not impair your chances. The selection process should be talent based.
- Keep being a strong voice.
There was an uproar up and down the country, when the Planning White Paper came out, I organised a roundtable discussion with industry experts, so Councillors could have a voice, this was the first session of its kind. As Councillors, we are the heart of their communities they know what their residents want as we are the grassroots.
