Why I nominated the Strawberry Line Society for The King’s Award for Voluntary Service
In November 2025 I nominated the Strawberry Line Society for The King’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK. Today they were named as recipients. Here is why I nominated them. Because it is a story of community. Since the early 1980s, volunteers have turned a closed…
Read MoreArmistice Day 2026: Shepton Mallet and Pilton Remember
This morning at 11am I joined veterans and local people at the Shepton Mallet Cenotaph to observe the two-minute silence and mark Armistice Day, paying my respects as a Somerset Councillor and as a local resident. The house captains from St Paul’s School laid two wreaths on behalf of their school. Afterwards they spent time…
Read MoreA prayer, a priest, a whistleblower – and a headteacher who stayed
A follow-up to School parents plan protests and demand answers as they lose a much-loved Headteacher When I wrote about the extraordinary meeting at Baltonsborough Village Hall, I left out one part of what happened. Going back to go forward As the meeting ended, I took a moment to speak privately to the people at…
Read MoreClaire Sully – Local Councillor Update for November
News, decisions and dates from across Somerset Council, for sharing with your communities. My roles:[Attendance: 100%]Elected Councillor for Mendip South, (Lib Dem), since May 2022.Somerset Council Executive: Associate Lead Member for Community ResiliencePolitical: Chair of the Somerset Council Liberal Democrat Group. Committees:Full Council — budget, policy, constitutionPlanning Committee – East (quasi-judicial, predetermination rules apply)Harbour Management Advisory…
Read MoreParents 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 MoreFrom the pub to the industrial estate: how a conversation led to an MP’s visit
Plenty of great ideas start in a pub, and they can be forgotten by closing time. This one wasn’t. A man I got chatting to told me about where he worked: Evercreech Junction Industrial Estate. Most of us drive past without realising how big it is or how many interesting businesses are there. He talked…
Read MoreClaire Sully – Local Councillor Update for October
My roles:[Attendance: 100%]Elected Councillor for Mendip South, (Lib Dem), since May 2022.Somerset Council Executive: Associate Lead Member for Community Resilience Political: Chair of the Somerset Council Liberal Democrat Group. Committees:Full Council — budget, policy, constitutionPlanning Committee – East (quasi-judicial, predetermination rules apply)Harbour Management Advisory CommitteeFlood Resilience Advisory GroupOutside body: Somerset Rivers Authority Board £50 million flood…
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…
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