I was born just after 5am one April morning at Wexham Park Hospital. 22 years later on his first visit to Slough, I welcomed Prime Minister Gordon Brown to this hospital. It’s a place filled with kind, skilled, compassionate people working to take care of us when we need the National Health Service.

Politics has always been, and continues to be, a big part of my life. I had the privilege of working with the previous Member of Parliament for Slough, Fiona Mactaggart, and then served the town as a Labour Councillor for 15 years between 2008 and 2023. They were some of the best years of my life so far.

Always wanting to make a difference to local people, I voted to build many new community facilities including playgrounds and children’s centres and The Britwell Centre. This is where I welcomed the late Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh to Slough on 5th April 2013 – my birthday.

Growing up, I was shaped by wonderful local schools like Penn Wood Primary School and Upton Court Grammar School and would later take a decision to build Willow Primary School; eventually teaching there as a Primary school teacher, shaping the lives of future generations.

We are a wonderfully diverse, vibrant, kind, connected community in Slough. It’s a place where I was born and bred. I have always called Slough home.