I am an experienced community politician having already served 12 years as a Leeds City Councillor. I was heavily involved in issues of housing, environment, energy and peace.
I have lived in Weetwood – on the Beckett Park Estate – since moving back to my family roots in Yorkshire in 1986.
Formerly an archaeologist, I now teach Geography and Law in a Bradford School. I am married and have two children.
Always environmentally concerned, I served as a Leeds City Councillor from 1990 to 2002.
Within the Labour Group I worked on issues that were on the green agenda – waste collection, recycling and disposal; provision of good housing; peace activities and peace education; opposition to nuclear power and weapons; green purchasing.
I persuaded the Labour Group to oppose waste incineration in the city.
In the end I could not defend the activities of the Labour government, and the illegal invasion of Iraq was for me the issue that saw my move to the Green Party.
Green politics is not only concerned with the issues of the environment. It is concerned with every issue that affects people, but sees it from a green perspective – sustainable communities, a sustainable quality of life, a sustainable future. The concerns are no narrower than those of other parties; the principles are stronger.
