I grew up in Middlesbrough, in a normal working family.  My Mum was a receptionist, my Dad worked at the power station and my older brother left school at 16 and trained to be a welder.  ​I was 10 when the last Labour Government came to power - and my life was changed immeasurably because of their focus on Education, Education, Education.  ​I was the first person in my family to go to University, and I got into Oxford.  I then went to law school and became a solicitor in the City - it was a different world.  ​

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Whilst working for big corporates in London, I was also volunteering at a couple of inner-city schools.   And it was seeing opportunities for normal kids like me crumble as the years went on, which inspired me to go into politics.  Where you are born should not affect your life chances.  Which is why my biggest political priority is, and always has been, making sure that children have the best start in life.

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So in 2018, I decided to stand for Parliament in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, the Constituency I  grew up in.  Following the rather bruising 2019 election (!) my husband and I moved to Eltham, and had our two children.  In 2022, when my youngest was just seven weeks old, I was elected as a Labour and Cooperative Councillor in Greenwich, where I also Chair the Regeneration, Transport and Culture Scrutiny Panel.

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It's definitely hard work - balancing a busy day job (Head of Risk, Assurance and Governance for a telco), my council responsibilities and a young family.  But I'm also not the sort of person who can sit still when there is such wide-ranging social injustice in our country.  I want my boys to grow up in a country where integrity matters, where everyone has a secure home and where nobody needs to use foodbanks.  In a  country where the NHS is well-funded, where our streets are safe and where we look after our most vulnerable.  And I want to do what I can, in order to make that a reality.