Like countless immigrants before me I came to London 20 years ago seeking opportunity, excitement, and new experiences.

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I had trained as a A&E nurse in my native Ireland and continued my work here in a number of London hospitals and clinics including The Royal Free, Highgate Private and clinics on Haverstock Hill, Hampstead High Street, Finchley Road and Golders Green. When I was ready to settle down, I got married and I am now raising a family here.

Communities like Barnet and Camden are the reason I am in London. I love their rich history and fresh modernity. Their still, quiet, places and their noisy, vibrant ones. Their established communities and the welcome they extend to newcomers.

However, I am also aware of the complex and evolving challenges that all London residents are facing. Over the last twenty years, I have seen London change. I have seen its communities become more divided and I have seen its streets become dirtier and more dangerous. I have seen its schools and hospitals paralysed by strikes and its streets blocked by aspirational but impractical traffic measures. Following recent revelations of institutionalised racism, misogyny and homophobia, the Metropolitan Police is going to need to work hard to rebuild public trust. However, more worrying to me is the fact that 126 London Police Stations closed between 2010 and 2022 Is it any wonder our streets, parks and public spaces feel so unsafe and that those that commit crime feel so unchallenged? The London Mayor first implemented a knife crime strategy in 2017- vowing to bring it down but since then it has only increased!

Eventually I had seen enough. I decided that I had to use my skills and experience to give something back to the city that had welcomed me. I started to play an active part in the community and became a Council Health Champion and that led me to volunteer when the Covid 19 vaccine programme was rolled out. That experience profoundly changed me. I met countless ordinary Londoners and heard firsthand how hard the lives of many had become. I saw how isolated older people felt living in communities where fear had replaced connection. I saw the challenges facing the ill and disabled in getting around London and accessing basic medical support. I saw poverty and need. These issues were everywhere and whilst the pandemic sharpened our focus on them, I knew they would remain long after the vaccines had been administered. I stood as a West End councillor candidate in the Westminster City Council elections and I saw further poverty and deprivation when visiting people in their homes even in the centre of our great city. All of that has led me here. I am here because there is no other place, I think I should be.

I am motivated by a deep sense of responsibility, passion, and dedication to serve the people of London. London is an amazing city and Barnet and Camden are amazing boroughs within it. However, this is not represented in the quality of life and availability of opportunity for many of the people that live and work here. This needs to change and I want to help make that change happen. I hope to unite the experiences and voices of all who were born here or have chosen to make it their home and drive impactful change in how our city is run.

The Greater London Authority shapes the policies, initiatives, and decisions that impact the lives of millions of Londoners. It also has the power to address some of the pressing challenges that Londoners face. From affordable housing, ULEZ and transportation to environmental sustainability and social equality, there are critical issues that require urgent attention. I am committed to working diligently with my fellow Assembly members to develop and implement policies that tackle these issues head-on. After my recent visits to Homeless Action, Barnet’s Foodbanks, CST Community Security Trust in Hendon, my meeting with the Met police in Kilburn and the NHS mental health support teams in Kentish Town, listening to the frustration felt by resident groups over LTNs, permanent road closures and increase massing and site density of developments, I am only too aware that there really is a lot to do.

If ultimately, I am elected, I will take every opportunity to listen to residents and community organisations. I will work with them to create policies and implement initiatives that will uplift and empower the people of Barnet and Camden and help deliver a happier, healthier, safer and fairer future for all.