“I grew up on a council estate in the West Midlands, attending the local state schools. At 18, I fell in love with Bournemouth and moved here to to do voluntary work. For many years I worked on the front line with children, young people and adults experiencing poverty, homelessness, addiction and domestic violence in our town. I have always privately rented and supplemented my income working for local businesses: experience which I share with many in Bournemouth, where housing costs are higher and wages lower than the national average.

I attended Birmingham City University at 31, becoming the second woman in the world to gain a first class honours degree in Horology. My career has given me insight into the need for greater availability of quality apprenticeships to renew our skilled craft and trade workforce.

I’ve campaigned on climate change, animal rights, human rights and inequality since I was 6 years old and my desire to fight such injustice has never faded. As a working class woman, I believe in the need for a truly representative parliament, with the diversity of background and experience to serve the many, not the privileged few”.