Campaigns
Happy Mother’s Day?
With International Women’s day this week and today being Mother’s Day, while we all celebrate women, we need to ask: is the government doing enough to address the Gender Pay Gap and are there effective policies that women need in the workplace right now? Is it any wonder the UK productivity rate has flatlined if…
Read MoreParliamentary candidate Claire Sully is ‘running the new Bridgwater constituency’
Claire Sully, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for the new Bridgwater constituency, is to embark on a challenge of, quite literally, ‘running the new Bridgwater constituency’ to raise awareness of important issues to residents from across the length and breadth of the area. Beginning Saturday, December 2, Claire will take on a series of organised…
Read MoreRoad safety measures at The Pecking Mill Corner
Road safety at The Pecking Mill corner has been a cause of concern for local people for a long time. I have made it one of my priority areas, since being elected in May 2022, to investigate the issues and find solutions. I have met with local residents, consulted with the police, Somerset Highways and…
Read MoreBBC shine a light on home office visa “unnecessary distress” on critically ill Somerset woman.
Following my last blog update on the difficulties being faced by one family from Evercreech, because of heartless Home Office visa rules, the BBC is now covering their story, online and on radio, with TV coverage possible as well. I was interviewed by the BBC for the radio report and by BBC Online. This latest…
Read MoreFinding my quiet spot – reflecting on suicide prevention
Had to find a quiet spot near my home after 3.5 hours of Suicide Alert – Every Life Matters training I helped to organise for a group of Somerset Council Councillors. In Somerset we have higher than average annual rates of suicide. One person every 90 minutes takes their life in the UK. Globally it…
Read MoreGovernment immigration harmful rules create hardship and distress to Somerset family
Just over a year ago I was elected as a Somerset Council Unitary Councillor. This was also when I met Teddy and Sos and learned of the terrible circumstances they were living in, due to cruel Government legislation around Sossa’s visa status (she is a US citizen). Since then we have taken their visa application…
Read MoreA371 – what’s going on?
I have had five onsite Somerset Highways meetings in and around Evercreech, since being elected (May 2022). Mendip South communities in Evercreech and surrounding areas, including Stoney Stratton, Ditcheat and Alhampton have been very concerned about recent traffic incidents, including fatalities, on the A371 (including by the Bath and West entrances, Leighton Lane, Pecking Mill…
Read MoreNational Press Support Evercreech Couple’s Plea for Help
Since my blog article about Teddy’s and Sossa’s desperate situation, The Daily Mirror, Daily Express and Somerset Live have all covered their story. Their GoFundMe page has seen an incredible response since this wider publicity, achieving their first fundraising milestone and they are about to hit their next target. Teddy and Sossa are constituents in…
Read MoreWe need to talk about farming!
While I was out and about in Mendip South recently, I was conversing with a local Dairy Farmer. He told me that he was one of the last Dairy Farmers in the village (where we met) and that many of his generation were leaving farming for good, while younger folk weren’t stepping up into the…
Read MoreWhen bureaucracy harms
Should bureaucracy, whether intentionally or not, cause people to suffer? This is the discussion I have been having with Teddy and Sossa, who along with their four-year old son live in Evercreech, Somerset, (a village near Shepton Mallet) that I represent. We know many people are suffering because of the cost of living crisis, in…
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