Before becoming your Member of Parliament, I had what could be regarded as a traditional career path – school; university; a job in finance and then working in my family’s furniture business. I was not politically active at school or university and dipped my toe into politics in my early twenties when I became self-employed and was starting to explore how best I could give back. I joined the Conservative Party in 2002 and was approached soon after by one of the experienced members of my local Association to test my political appetite and ambition. I decided to stand for election as a Parish Councillor in June 2004, which I won. This gave me my first taste of front-line politics. I was encouraged to make the next step obvious step up to the next tier of local government as a District Councillor, winning my seat from the Liberal Democrats. In 2017, I was elected to Essex County Council and in 2019, I was honoured to be elected as Member of Parliament for South West Hertfordshire. In parallel to these elected positions, I have held most Association officer roles including Association Chairman for 3 years and then Area Chairman for 3 years.
British politics is never boring, and since being elected as your Member of Parliament, I have worked with Ministers and other colleagues in the face of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic; a war in Ukraine and a global rise in energy prices. During the pandemic, I chose to continue to commute into Parliament as being a nearby MP, I felt it was right that where appropriate and possible MPs should be in Westminster, especially when we had asked key workers to continue to go to work. This decision did mean that I was not as visible locally as I would have liked and my diary commitments in some ways are playing catch up because of this. I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to visit an array of schools, businesses and charities recently that we have here in South West Hertfordshire, a true highlight of holding elected office.
What I enjoy most is meeting residents to discuss not only their concerns but also their aspirations. I know how important my role as your MP is and how my great team and I can potentially help where others may not. I remain fully focused on representing my constituents of South West Hertfordshire and as a legislator, to scrutinise, support and hold the government to account in the days, months and years to come. My local prioritises are to continue to support high street businesses; improve digital connectivity; ensure that we have access to reliable and healthy transport; keep our streets safe; retain and improve necessary flood defences and to protect our stunning Green Belt.
I remain very active in Parliament, and I was honoured to be appointed as an Assistant Government Whip in September 2023. This has followed my stints as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Foreign Secretary since September 2022, PPS to the Home Secretary, and PPS in the Department for Transport. Unfortunately, my Government position means I am not able to speak in the House of Commons, nor able to be a Member of any All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs). It does, however, mean I have even more access to Ministers and colleagues when making representations on behalf of my constituents, and my team and I will continue to support anyone who needs help across South West Hertfordshire with casework matters.
I am committed to supporting my constituents wherever I can, and If I can ever be of any assistance, please do contact me at [email protected] and I will do my very best to help you.
With my very best wishes,
