Experience

2023
• Selected by Crawley Constituency Labour Party as their candidate for Parliament at the next General Election.
• Elected to a fifth term as Crawley Borough Councillor for Northgate and West Green.

2022
• Selected by Crawley Labour Party to run for council for a fifth time in Northgate and West Green.
• Elected Chair of Crawley Borough Council’s Governance Committee.
• Led Labour back to majority control of Crawley Borough Council.
• Chaired the Local Government Association’s sub-committee responsible for scrutinising the Elections Bill.
• Joined the Labour Movement for Europe.
• Joined the Socialist Education Association.

2021
• Elected Chair of the Greater Brighton Economic Board.
• Appointed as a Member Peer by the Local Government Association.

2020
• Following two bereavements and two defections, negotiated a deal which saw Labour retain full control of Crawley Borough Council, despite being the smallest party on the council.
• Appointed to the Labour Deputy Leader’s Campaigning Board.
• Appointed Co-operative Party EC/LCF delegate.

2019
• Elected to a fourth term as Crawley Borough Councillor for Northgate and West Green.
• Contested Crawley at the 2019 General Election for the Labour Party.

2018
• Elected to a third term as Crawley Borough Councillor for Northgate.
• Selected by Crawley Constituency Labour Party as their candidate for Parliament at the next General Election.
• Selected by Northgate and West Green Labour Party as one of their candidates for the 2019 Crawley Borough Council elections
• Became a non-executive director of iESE: the public sector transformation partner.

2017
• Employed by Sarah Jones, newly-elected Member of Parliament for Croydon Central, to get her office up and running.
• Joined GMB.
• Became a founding member of the New Local Government Mutual.
• Appointed to the Greater Brighton Economic Board, delivering devolution for the Crawley area.

2016
• Appointed to the Local Government Association’s Culture Tourism and Sport Board, representing Labour councillors nationally as a substitute member.
• Led the Governance workstream of the 3SC Devolution Deal bid.
• Worked out of the Richmond, Virginia office on the Hillary Clinton campaign.

2015
• Became Crawley’s representative on the Sussex Police and Crime Panel (the body which replaced the Police Authority).
• Joined the Board of Trustees at Crawley CVS.
• Led Crawley with a one-seat majority on the council, ensuring every policy went through including difficult decisions, such as the Local Plan. After years of deliberations Mid Sussex District Council have yet to pass a Local Plan, despite the Conservatives holding all of the seats.

2014
• Led Labour to victory in the Crawley Borough Council elections and became Leader of Crawley Borough Council, at 27 the party’s youngest council leader.
• Joined Gatwick Airport’s Consultative Committee.
• Became part of the Joint Committee of the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership.

2013
• Elected onto West Sussex County Council as Labour and Co-operative representative for Northgate and Three Bridges, then and now the only Labour candidate to have won in Three Bridges since 2005.
• Became lead Labour member for financial and performance issues on West Sussex County Council.
• Made a trustee of the multi-billion pound West Sussex Local Government Pension Scheme.

2012
• Became Leader of the Opposition on Crawley Borough Council.
• Employed by London Labour Party as an organiser on the 2012 Mayoral/GLA campaign, achieving a 12.7% swing to Labour in South West London.
• Undertook the Local Government Association’s flagship Leadership Academy programme, qualifying with an award from the Institute of Leadership and Management.
• Served as the Crawley CLP delegate to Labour Party Conference 2012.

2011
• Became sub-editor of ‘Anticipations’, the magazine of the Young Fabians.

2010
• Ran and was successfully elected to Crawley Borough Council as representative for Northgate, taking a seat the Lib Dems had held for almost two decades.
• Appointed Chair of the Labour Group on Crawley Borough Council.
• Joined the Co-operative Party.
• Employed by Labour South East as a Local Organiser.

2009
• Became Election Agent for Crawley Labour Party.
• Employed by Laura Moffatt, MP for Crawley, as an Office Manager.

2008
• Graduated with a research-training MSc in Citizenship and Governance from the University of Southampton.
• Awarded Honorary Life Membership of Southampton University’s Student Union.
• Became Assistant Secretary/IT for Southampton City Labour Party.
• Interned with The Constitution Unit at University College London.
• Interned at Compass’s head office, working on successful campaigns to introduce a 50% tax band for the wealthy and to stop the part-privatisation of the Royal Mail.

2007
• Graduated with a BA (Hons.) in Modern History and Politics from the University of Southampton.
• Joined Amicus (now Unite).
• Joined The Fabian Society.
• Joined Compass.
• Completed the Labour Party’s Campaigning Diploma course.
• Appointed student representative to University Senate.

2006
• Became Chair of Union Council at Southampton University.
• Elected Chairman of Southampton University’s Debating Society.

2005
• Became Political Editor of the Wessex Scene, Southampton University Students’ Union’s newspaper.

2004
• Re-founded Southampton University Labour Club.
• Started co-presenting a current affairs radio show on SURGE.

2002
• Joined the Labour Party.

2001
• Undertook school work experience with Laura Moffatt, Member of Parliament for Crawley.