Thanks for visiting my website. I hope you find it interesting, informative and occasionally entertaining!
So this is the page where I droan on about myself and usually reel off a long list of positions I’ve held – none of which you’ve probably a) ever heard of or b) got much interest in.
Well I’m not going to do that because I assume that by clicking on this page, you want to know about me as a person. So here goes…
I was born at the now demolished Billinge Hospital and brought up in Ashton-in-Makerfield, near Wigan. Funnily enough, despite being a Wiganer I prefer pasties to pies and rugby union to rugby league (but actually prefer football over both). I suppose I’ve always been awkward…
I went to Nicol Mere County Primary School, where I played in goal for the school football team and where, in 1991, we ended up winning The Jack Case Cup against our rivals RL Hughes. At Nicol Mere I had my first taste of politics or sorts when I met my local MP, Ian McCartney, who was speaking at a conference about health issues and I was one of the school’s delegates.
In autumn 1991, I started Byrchall High and developed a love of languages, starting with French. In 1992, I had my second taste of politics by supporting my friend who was the Conservative candidate for the school’s Mock General Election. Unlike John Major, we didn’t win but had a great time winding up the Labour supporters, who outnumbered us by about 100 to 1…
But sport was the big thing for me at school, I was in the school team keeping goal, and were officially one of the best teams in Greater Manchester. I was also heavily into music and Britpop. I vaguely heard people mentioning the name “Blair”, but I thought they were talking about the band Blur who were massive in the mid 90s.
In 1996, I left school and was offered a two year apprenticeship as a goalkeeper by Wigan Athletic, but turned it down and decided to carry on with my studies, so enrolled onto three A-level courses at Wigan and Leigh College. It was there I met my future wife, Lisa, who is from West Lancashire. After graduating from the University of Central Lancashire in 2001, we got married and bought our first house in West Lancashire. Our daughter was born at Ormskirk Hospital six years later.
I got a job as a journalist on the Southport Visiter newspaper and worked my way up to become Chief Reporter at the Formby Times and latterly News Editor at the Ormskirk Advertiser. Whilst at the ‘Addy’, I covered numerous council meetings and very much enjoyed the experience. Needless to say, some of my colleagues thought I was mad.
It was as a journalist that I got interested in politics and how it affected people’s lives. Politics isn’t theoretical, it’s real and I’ve never forgotten that.
After leaving journalism, I went into marketing and public relations and in late July 2010 was selected to fight the Up Holland Ward By-Election. Although it was short campaign in a Labour held seat, I managed to gain 40% of all votes cast, substantially cutting Labour’s majority from just a few months previously.
On May 6th 2011, I was elected as a Conservative Borough Councillor for Derby Ward with 50% of the vote on a 2.7% swing from Labour to the Conservatives. It’s believed I’m the youngest councillor currently serving on West Lancashire Borough Council and see it as a huge privilege to be elected to serve the people of Derby Ward and West Lancashire as a whole.
I’ve always loved meeting and speaking to people, and this role allows me to do that in abundance.
When I’m not pounding the streets of Derby Ward, I like tending to my veg patch and garden, cooking, spending time with my family, travelling, learning foreign languages and studying local history.
