Campaigns
Parents clash with academy trust over Head’s exit and reports of second resignation
Baltonsborough families packed the village hall to question the ACE Trust. What followed was a clash between Trust-speak and parents’ deep confidence in their teachers. Parents are planning further protests. Baltonsborough is a village school, like so many of the schools across my picturesque corner of Somerset. Small classes, familiar faces at the gate, and…
Read MoreClimate resilience starts on our own doorstep
On Monday night I joined 70+ people at The Pilton Stage for a screening of The People’s Emergency Briefing, a film being shared through grassroots community groups to start local conversations about the climate and nature emergency. I was pleased to join the post-screening panel discussion alongside Somerset Wildlife Trust. In the room were two…
Read MoreNo bus, no choice: why Shepton Mallet needs a fair deal on transport
Shepton Mallet is there for the villages. The buses aren’t. Most services stop around 7pm and only one route runs on a Sunday. I’m calling for a Bus Summit in Shepton Mallet to bring the people who can fix it into one room. A bus timetable decides more than when you can travel. It shapes…
Read MoreWhy I Walk for a Life
Why I Walk for a Life Mental health and suicide prevention were a big part of why I stood as a councillor at Somerset Council. I wanted to see from the inside what is actually being done, and what a unitary authority has the power to do. On Thursday 17th of September, Shepton Mallet hosts…
Read MoreTwo Days in Westminster: Standing Close to History
I have just come back from a two-day trip to the Houses of Parliament. I was there informally, and had the privilege of two separate visits on consecutive days. That gave me the time to spend with Baroness Suttie. Baroness Alison Suttie has given the better part of three decades to public life. She spent…
Read MoreI spoke to LBC News about the Bonehill-Paine selection — and why Somerset isn’t a lower bar
I spoke to Steve Holden on LBC News about the Crewkerne South selection this lunchtime (Aug 6th) — and what the Conservatives think a councillor actually does. Listen again on Global Player, my interview starts at 2 hr 20. Joshua Bonehill-Paine, who was jailed for antisemitic harassment, was selected as the Conservative candidate for Crewkerne…
Read MoreKemi Badenoch has one standard for MPs and another for Somerset.
The leader of the Conservative Party went on national radio this week to defend her party’s selection of a former neo-Nazi as a council candidate in Somerset. She lost the argument twice. Once on Joshua Bonehill-Paine. Once on Somerset “That’s what councillors do” Joshua Bonehill-Paine was jailed for three years in 2015 for posting antisemitic…
Read MoreThe government wants to weaken flood plain protections. Tessa Munt is fighting back — and I’m with her.
Tessa Munt MP, as Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Flooding and Flooded Communities, went directly to Parliament to request dedicated debating time on the National Planning Policy Framework changes. She made the case to the relevant committee that the proposed changes are dangerous — warning that they would allow developers to bypass…
Read MoreOur Somerset Communities Are Our Greatest Asset
I am truly proud to have been appointed by the Somerset Council Leader to the role of Associate Lead Member for Community Resilience in the Council Executive — a recognition of the community work I have dedicated myself to, and a responsibility I do not take lightly. My role is to support the Council Leader…
Read MorePaths That Connect Us
I was invited to contribute to a film celebrating the Strawberry Line — a path that’s become something of a lifeline for our local community and our sense of wellbeing. This is a short extract from my contribution. The full film is due out this summer.
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