Hi! I’m Sam.
I’m an advocate.
Whenever I have a voice, I speak out. I’ve twice been elected a trustee of Cambridge University, a role in which I have continued to fight for a better deal for staff, as well as for bold action on the climate crisis. I secured commitments to use a more equitable structure on certain payments to staff, improving awards for those on lower pay. I’ve campaigned against the casualisation of workers (including the use of zero-hour contracts), and successfully lobbied for changes to how donations from fossil fuel companies are treated.
I’m a strong campaigner.
When I stood for election as a councillor, I wasn’t expected to win. Up against a long-serving incumbent from an opposition party, I was told to prepare for defeat. But I organised a grassroots campaign, connecting with voters, and gained the seat for Labour. I know what it takes to get people onside, and have the skills to deliver. With a background as a researcher in life sciences, I also know how to run effective data-driven campaigns that target our limited resources for maximum benefit.
I’m an effective elected representative.
In under two years, I’ve secured funding for projects across my ward and across the council in general. I’ve solved countless individual cases on behalf of residents. As an Executive Councillor, I’m responsible for around £16.5m of spending on council services annually, and I’ve protected our frontline services despite the huge budgetary pressures inflicted on us by the Conservative government. I’m championing innovation and finding solutions, while delivering on key manifesto pledges.
I wasn’t always political.
Growing up in a rural town in the North East of England, I could see things getting worse around me - shops closing, more families struggling, and more businesses failing. But I never saw these issues as political - I thought all politicians were the same, and nobody cared.
But looking back, I realised that so many of the issues my community faced were caused by political choices. The funding cuts that caused my school’s sixth form to close, leaving students with 3-hour round trips to the next nearest one due to inadequate public transport, were inflicted by the Conservatives’ choices. The same was true of the crippling business rates that destroyed local high streets and continue to do so.
But I could see Labour was different. Things didn’t have to be in decline like they were, and I wanted to be part of delivering that alternative. So I joined the Labour Party and a few years later I stood to be a councillor.
I wasn’t a typical council candidate - only around 1% of councillors are under 25, and I found many residents to be uneasy about electing someone my age. But the only way to fix that was to roll up my sleeves and get out there talking to people, convincing them of my skills and abilities. I was successful, and a year later I joined the council’s executive team with personal responsibility for overseeing a large fraction of our operational service delivery, covering a team of around 250 staff.
Over my time as a councillor, I’ve become more and more familiar with the immense scale of the financial pressures facing so many of our public services. Local authorities have been cut to the bone by this Conservative government, with waves of councils across the country (and under a variety of political parties) beginning to go bankrupt. GP surgeries nationwide are dealing with more patients per doctor than ever before - far above recommended safe levels - and more and more people are failing to receive the entry-level medical care they need, meaning more serious illnesses develop and put yet more strain on the system. It’s a vicious cycle ripping apart lives.
The need to give our country its future back is why I’m now standing for Parliament. North West Cambridgeshire deserves an experienced representative that knows how to run a winning campaign and get things done - and I can deliver that.
I’m already working for North West Cambridgeshire - and if elected, I have a plan to turn the tide on years of Tory neglect.
I care about North West Cambridgeshire. I have family here, and having been at the front of delivering services in a Labour council, I know the difference that Labour in power makes.
For almost two years, I’ve been a member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s Skills Committee, working to deliver skills training and further and higher education across the constituency. I’ve supported the progression of Anglia Ruskin University Peterborough, which is allowing people that would never otherwise have considered university to pursue higher education locally, providing the skills and training we need to further grow our region.
And I’ve fought for better public transport, which is so critical to residents of all ages. It was the intervention of our Labour mayor, backed by Cambridge Labour, that saved so many bus routes across our area that were at risk of being lost - like the 904 service which villages like Stilton depend on so heavily. But there’s only so much we can do without meaningful support from central government to bring public transport routes under local control and make it work for everyone. If I’m selected, fighting for that will be a a key priority for me.
The systematic degradation of our police forces and their crime prevention work by deep Conservative cuts has also allowed crime to run rampant in North West Cambridgeshire - with around ten violent offences recorded by police every single day. There’s no sugar-coating it: we are at breaking point. Labour has a plan to fix it - with fully-funded plans to recruit 13,000 police officers and restore neighbourhood policing. As well as championing that work, I will champion a holistic approach to complement it at a local level as I’ve done in the communities I currently represent, working across organisations to make hot-spots safer through measures such as improved lighting.
It’s time for a change in North West Cambridgeshire.
North West Cambridgeshire has never had a Labour MP. But with the Conservatives crashing our economy and failing our area, more and more people are deciding to lend Labour their support - and recent boundary changes give Labour a real chance.
I’m standing because I have the skills and experience to run a campaign for change in North West Cambridgeshire and win the seat for Labour. It won’t be easy - but with your support, we can do it.