In 2015, I travelled to Bosnia to learn about the Srebrenica genocide. Meeting survivors and hearing their stories changed my life. It showed me how fragile democracy and human rights can be when division and extremism go unchecked.

That’s why I joined the Liberal Democrats — because I believe we must always stand up for fairness, dignity, and freedom, whether here or around the world.

Because for me, it’s personal. I grew up supporting my parents with their health problems. I know what it’s like to sit in Sheffield’s hospitals, waiting for news that could change everything.

Later, I chose to build my career in social care — first with charities like Hft and now at Sheffield Mencap & Gateway, where I work with families every day.

As the Lib Dem Spokesperson for Adult Health & Social Care and an NHS Governor, I’ve seen how the system can succeed and how it can fail. When social care works, it’s fairness and dignity in action. That’s why I fight so hard to make it better.

I believe politics should be about action, not words. That’s why I’ve fought on the issues residents tell me matter most:

• Exposing ADHD waiting lists and NHS delays.

• Campaigning for pensioners after Labour’s winter fuel cuts.

• Standing up for WASPI women denied justice.

• Securing housing repairs for tenants left waiting too long.

• Calling for the Government to scrap the disasterous jobs tax on care providers.

These campaigns gained media coverage and, more importantly, delivered real results for local people.

Labour promised change, but their first acts were to cut winter fuel support and plan the biggest ever cut to disability benefits — and their silence on social care speaks volumes.

Reform, meanwhile, thrives on division and fear, just like extremists I saw abroad. I will stand up to both: by defending fairness and dignity, by treating people as people not numbers, and by proving that principled, values-driven politics can win.

Whether it was standing at the Srebrenica memorial, studying human rights in Sweden, or visiting Israel and the West Bank, these experiences deepened my commitment to fairness and democracy.

I’ve seen what happens when people stop treating each other with dignity, and when freedoms we take for granted disappear. But I’ve also seen the best in people — courage, compassion, and resilience in the face of injustice. Those lessons stay with me every day and are so important at every single level of politics.

I began my career in fundraising at Books Beyond Words, a charity supporting people with learning disabilities. Later, when I returned to Sheffield, I used those skills in NHS bid writing — helping secure vital funding for health services.

It’s all about building relationships and treating everyone with respect. It doesn’t matter if someone donates £5 or £5,000. Let’s build those relationships and build a winning team.

Because liberalism is about people. It’s about fairness, dignity, and respect for every individual.

Around the world, those values are under threat: from Putin’s war on democracy abroad to Farage’s fear-driven politics here at home. I saw in Bosnia what happens when extremism goes unchecked, and we should never stand by and let that happen again.

Liberalism gives us the tools to defend democracy, protect human rights, and build a society where everyone matters. That’s why I’m proud to call myself a liberal — and why I’ll always fight for those values from basic community politics right up to national campaigns.