Following the deadline for nominations on Friday, I am proud to announce that I am officially Labour’s candidate for Brentwood Borough Council in the Hutton South by-election, which will be held on Thursday 2nd October.

Full statement

I want to start by paying tribute to Councillor Mark Reed, who represented residents in the ward for fifteen years. We both stood for this position last year and, despite being in different parties, he was kind and humble in victory, encouraging me to stay involved in local politics.

This time, Reform are standing a candidate too. Do not let the different shade of blue fool you: Reform’s policies are almost identical to the Conservatives and the candidate even used to be a councillor for them.

For a year and a half, Brentwood Borough Council has been run by an administration which includes Labour councillors. The difference that we have made since replacing the Conservatives has been huge.

We have brought down our debt to unlock £23 million for important causes, secured a multi-million pound investment in the Baytree Centre, started development on 62 new homes with the infrastructure to support young families in Hutton South and neighbouring wards, and achieved the best social housing rating of any council in Essex.

If elected, I will lobby the administration still ran by the Conservatives in Essex County Council for our fair share of the £12 million it has been given by the Government to fix our roads, forwarding reports of persistent potholes, crime hotspots, and neglected infrastructure each month until they do their job.

I will also regularly hold surgeries in the ward for residents to put their views across to me and send updates on what is happening in Brentwood Borough Council.

The Conservatives have consistently failed to deliver for our town and our county, but Reform do not have a serious, credible plan to show what they will do differently. I want to make a real difference to people’s lives and, if given the opportunity to serve, I will be a bold and passionate voice for our community.