My Background

I was born in Elland and have lived here all my life. My roots are firmly anchored in Yorkshire.

My grandfather came to Elland to fulfil the need for textile workers in the 1960s. I attended local primary schools and then The Brooksbank School before obtaining a place at the University of Huddersfield. I graduated with an Honours Degree in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Innovation with Entrepreneurial Studies.

I am married with four children, my wife Naseem whom I met in Leeds, together we have three boys and a girl. Naseem was previously a school teacher and currently works in Telecoms company and spends her spare time helping Schools as a teaching assistant.

I am an Innovation & Funding Specialist with a passion for change and restoring the economic prosperity of our local communities. I have over 20 years of experience working in industry in various sectors from helping launch start-ups to business transformation of global organisations.

I took the decision to get involved in local politics and now national politics primarily down to the frustration felt with the lack of progress and impact of austerity of our local communities. I always felt local voices were not being listened to and decisions were void of wider public participation. Doing nothing wasn’t an option any longer. 

I set my stand to put forward a clear vision to get local decision making on the agenda and bring back control from Central Government to where priorities would best be addressed. 

The Brexit decision was a key factor in all this. I have seen first hand how being a member of the European Union has benefited our region, hence the decision to leave has never sat well with me, but we must move on and do the best we can to make a success of the outcome. Having worked across the wider regions which include Calderdale, Kirklees, Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds, I have seen first hand how we still benefit from EU funded projects to help businesses and we must focus on opening up market across the world for our manufacturing and service sectors.  

I completely acknowledge there have been failures and we must find solutions that impact ordinary people, we need to fix the underlying causes rather than the symptoms.

The lack of PROGRESS was my reason for joining politics.

It was the issue that drove me to Action.

After years of frustration, failure and disappointment with the establishment, my only choice was to do something myself. I started off working with the existing organisations, one thing led to another and the rest is history.