I have lived in Westfield all my life. I became interested in politics whilst in secondary education at William Parker School and went on to read Politics at Sussex University.

In 1999 I stood for council initially as I was concerned about development within the AONB and I wanted to help regenerate the Rother and Hastings area. I was elected and was the youngest councillor by some margin!

In 2005 I was elected to East Sussex County Council. I was Leader of Rother Council from 2007 until 2019 and I continue to play a part in the cross boundary approach to make our towns and villages better places to live, work and visit.