St Mark’s Ward has been home to my husband and myself for the last 24 years and it is where we have brought up our two children. So I am very familiar with both the benefits and some of the challenges of living here in Surbiton and, as a Mum who worked in London for many years, I know only too well the pressures families (and commuters) face.

As a Committee Member of the local Residents Association, I have worked to maintain the essential character of Surbiton but have argued for change and progress where local people will benefit.

You may ask why I want to represent you as a Lib Dem Councillor in Kingston? In addition to my belief in what the Party stands for nationally and has achieved locally in Kingston, I hope that, as a Councillor, I could work more effectively for the issues I have supported. I have in recent years become disabled (I am visually impaired) and have championed the needs of vulnerable groups – the young, the disabled and the elderly – in the provision of health and social care, planning and transport. In 2000 I was awarded the OBE for services to innovation and the disabled. My career as a former civil servant has, I believe, equipped me with the skills necessary to make an effective contribution on a wide range of subjects. I would particularly welcome the opportunity to put the voices of those who too often go unheard at the centre of decision-making in Kingston.