About Me
Daughter of a gas engineer and stay at home mum, I moved to Morecambe Bay at a young age.
I was the 1st in my family to go to university, at Lancaster.
I joined the Labour Party in 2010 after the birth of my first daughter
The support I received from Labour initiatives such as Sure Start centres were invaluable to me as a 1st time young mum. The introduction of tax credits gave us financial security whilst I trained to be a teacher locally. I felt I needed to give something back so I decided to join the party.
I was encouraged by local members to stand for council, and in 2011, I was elected as a councillor in Westgate Ward.
During that time I had 2 more daughters.
In 2015, like many families in the area, we had to make the tough decision to leave Morecambe for work, and I currently reside in Blackpool working as a youth worker, and also the Lead Member for Youth Services on Blackpool Council.
I've always had an affinity for northern seaside towns but being selected for Morecambe & Lunesdale feels like I'm coming home. It's where I grew up, had my first family home. It's where I got married and where my parents still live.
Morecambe and Lunesdale residents deserve someone with a strong voice that will fight for them. We want good affordable housing and job security, and a strong future for our children.
I want to see the area prosper, and ensure that fewer people have to make that difficult decision to leave their home and families to find financial security, like I had to.
My Labour Party experience:
- Youth Conference Delegate 2011
- Elected to Lancaster City Council, 2011
- Labour Group Secretary , 2012
- Current CLP Secretary in BN&C
- Current Councillor and Cabinet Assistant/ Lead Member for Youth Services at Blackpool Council
- Accepted onto the Jo Cox Women in Leadership 1st Cohort
- Member of Fylde Coast Labour Women’s Forum
- Member of Labour Women’s Network
- Member of LGBT Labour
- Member of Co-Op party
- Committed trade unionist: Member of both Unite & GMB
- Ex Secretary of Blackpool Against The Cuts
- Vice Chair of Blackpool Council Labour Group/ Blackpool LCF
- Delegate to Conference 2016
- Steward for the last 2 regional conferences
- Organised/ campaigned in various elections, including various local council, Lancashire County Council, Blackpool Council, PCC elections. Helped out in various parliamentary by elections across the North West.
- Helped out with various trade union campaigns across the region
The Campaign
My campaign for the GE plan is based around - 1. Limited time 2. Limited money 3. Limited man power.
My pledges will be around Jobs, Growth, Housing, Transport & Education
A Vision for Morecambe & Lunesdale Post Brexit
- Support Local Economy – pushing for an Energy Hub around Heysham powerstation and Port, attracting jobs exploiting potential in renewables, especially wind, tidal & biomass.
- Fight for better public transport. Desperate need for better rail and bus services in Morecambe, Heysham and Carnforth to support population and tourism industry
- Push for good quality affordable housing
Tory Failure
- Take on lazy, ineffective MP with ludicrous expense claims and little presence in constituency
- I would be a visible, active constituency-focussed MP with an office in the heart of the constituency
- David recently has been getting a lot of press about pushing for an enterprise zone.
I have now had 2 meetings with Cllr Simon Blackburn who is the Chair of the Shadow Combined Authority, LEP (Lancashire Enterprise Partnership) Director and sits on the LEP's Enterprise Zone Governance Committee.
Simon once again confirmed that the reason Morecambe has not yet been considered for an Enterprise Zone is because no one has submitted a bid. He also confirmed to me, that there are no 'criteria' for Enterprise zones, and each bid is considered equally.Simon also informed me that the LEP have received no correspondence from Mr Morris. Worse, although he has been invited to numerous meetings, presentations and showcases, Mr Morris is yet to turn up to anything he has been invited to regarding LEP or the Combined Authority.
On the back of this, I am going to arrange a business forum, inviting all those businesses that have shown support of an Enterprise Zone, and invite Mr Morris along, as Simon will be there too to explain to the businesses how Enterprise Zone applications work, and how he has received n communication from Mr Morris.
