Summary
Growing up
My Sheffield
My Work

I live in south Sheffield with my fiancée Jenny and our two baby girls. I came to Sheffield University for my degree and decided on my second day that I would make this city my home – I have lived here ever since. Growing up in a former council house with my four sisters, the inequalities in our country were evident to me everyday. I joined the Labour Party when I was 16 because I wanted to be at the forefront of making Britain a better, fairer and more prosperous society. Since University, I have worked with hundreds of people across Sheffield to make our city a better place. I am heavily involved in Sheffield. I am a Governor of the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Trust and a member of the Central Board of Sheffield Homes. I am a governor of two local schools. I am Chief Executive of the Foundation for Social Inclusion. I am also a National Director of Citizens Advice. In my spare time I enjoy walking in the Peaks, swimming, reading and going out to our local park. I am absolutely dedicated to building on Sheffield’s strengths and making it a great place to live for everyone. I am determined to help create a society where power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few. To find out more, please get in touch

 
Growing up
I am one of five children and was bought up by my mum. As I was growing up, Britain’s inequalities were always apparent to me. Everyone did the best they could but it was still tougher than it needed to be – I never felt as if the Government was on our side. I don’t think I will ever forget some of the vitriolic and poisonous attacks on single mothers by the Conservative Party. I secured a scholarship to Northamptonshire Grammar School. As the only person in the school to be from either a single-parent family or a family with no income, the inequalities in our country were clearly evident to me everyday. I joined the Labour Party when I was 16 because I wanted to be at the forefront of making Britain a better, fairer and more prosperous society. I knew from an early age that I wanted to use the opportunities, skills and drive my upbringing had given me to improve the lives of the people of Britain.

 My Sheffield
Over the years, this city has given me so many opportunities – I am determined to keep giving something back to Sheffield. I came to Sheffield University for my degree and decided on my second day that I would make this city my home – I have lived here ever since. I got involved in Sheffield alongside my study, becoming Chair of the Sheffield Young Carers Project, which supports young people who care for a relative who has a disability or drug or alcohol problem.

I also joined the Sheffield Homes Central Board. Sheffield Homes is the largest ALMO in the country and manages of 40,000 properties. Working with tenants, schools, wardens and the police I have helped to make Sheffield’s communities stronger and more successful. I am currently a member of Sheffield First, which brings Sheffield’s public, private and voluntary sectors together to tackle some of the big strategic challenges the city is facing, like inequality, community cohesion, and carbon reduction / climate change. I am a Governor of Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and have responsibility for the Northern General Hospital, the Royal Hallamshire, Weston Park Hospital, the Jessop Wing and the Dental Hospital. These hospitals offer some of the best care in the world. I am proud of our NHS and absolutely committed to defending and strengthening it.

In most ways, Sheffield is the best city in Britain, but I have always believed that we are all harmed by manifest inequalities: Across the city, there is a 13 year gap in life expectancy. Tackling the roots of this inequality has been my highest priority as Governor of the Teaching Hospitals. I am also a Governor of two local schools. Sheffield has so much to offer and so much potential. As MP for Sheffield Hallam, I will never lose my love for this city or my perspective on why I want to make it better.

My Work
After graduating University, I became a manager at a hostel and community centre in Doncaster, working with young people who had been let down by society, mainly as a result of the ‘do-nothing’ economic approach of the 1980’s. Everyday, I saw the benefits of Labour’s investment in programmes to support social inclusion, but I also saw the scale of how much more needs to be done. The pace of change can be achingly slow. As a Director at the South Yorkshire Open Forum, I brought together the views and experiences of charities and voluntary sector organisations and co-ordinated social policy recommendations to local, regional and national government.

I have also undertaken significant voluntary work. I chaired the Youth Action Network, which is a national charity that supports excluded young people in to volunteering and then employment. We must never return to the situation where people are written off as failures at an early age and all but forgotten. I am a Director of Sheffield Mental Health CAB, which provides debt, benefits and housing advice to people with mental health issues.

I am Chief Executive at the Foundation for Social Inclusion, which undertakes social policy work, training and skills development and consultancy for charities.

My working life has been spent bringing people together to improve services and the quality of life of the least and the last. My mission as a constituency Member of Parliament will be the same as my mission in work: creating a society where power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few.