As the phrase goes, I was born in London, but I was made on Merseyside. My history spans generations of Liverpudlians.
My great grandfather was the seventh son of a seventh son, who fooled the drafting sergeant and joined up at 14 to fight alongside his six brothers with the Liverpool Pals in the First World War and won the military medal for gallantry. When he and only one of his brothers returned home to Liverpool from the trenches he worked on the docks and started his own successful Market Garden Company.
My Grandad’s family construction business helped rebuild the city after the Second World War. My great uncle played with the Merseybeat group Them Grimbels in the 1960s, touring with The Beatles in the UK and Hamburg.
My own father lived and worked in Gateacre as a lay preacher and historian. I was the first to be born ‘down South’ but grew up with an affinity to the city spending time here with my family wherever we could. Liverpool is my second home.
I was raised by my Mum and Grandparents. My Grandad was a staunch Conservative and loved to impart his political ideas and coach my political interest. He taught me that opportunity will always present itself to you even when you are not looking for it, but what matters is taking that opportunity and passing it on to others, a value that he lived by, and I have tried to emulate.
That is why I wanted to stand in Liverpool Walton, because I believe that this amazing City deserves better. The socialist arguments are not based on facts, facts like authorities run by Labour don’t work. Look at the mess Labour leave whenever they govern, against what the Conservatives have achieved for the city: £25m of funding for Liverpool Freeport, almost all schools in Liverpool Walton with an Outstanding or Good Ofsted rating, 724 more police officers on the streets of Merseyside since 2019, and economic inactivity falling in the city.
Our country has been through a shock not seen since the Second World War. It is human nature to think changing the status quo is the solution, that is why we ended up with the disastrous Labour government of the post-war period which kept us on rations while the Germans rebuilt. We mustn’t let that happen again.
So, I ask you to be curious, give yourself the opportunity to step outside old, outdated ideas and really ask what has the Labour Party done for my city?
