We deserve better
I'm standing to be a Green Party councillor because I believe that we all deserve better than the system we have been forced to live with
I never wanted to get involved in politics - and that's the truth. But what is also true is that for too long, I have been incredibly annoyed by the way politics is done, not just in the United Kingdom, but worldwide. The reality for too many of us is that politics just is not representative. Every few years, we go to the polling station and we put a cross in a box, but if the candidate you choose doesn't win, we are forced to accept whatever representation is more successful. We deserve better.
I was born in Scunthorpe in 1998 before moving to Kingston upon Hull at a very young age. I lived here for just over a decade, before moving back to my hometown in 2009. There, I spent around 12 years attending secondary school, college, and I also had a brief stint at university. In 2021, after finding the pandemic particularly challenging for my mental health, I decided to move back to Hull for a fresh start. I have lived here since, and I have made this city my permanent home.
My first taste of politics was during the general election in 2010 when I would walk to school and see 'Vote Labour' posters in windows, but it wasn't until the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 that I actually started to pay attention. And then in 2015, when we had the general election that saw an end to the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition era, I became obsessed with politics. The campaign, the vote count, the results. It was fascinating.
In August 2015, my mum died very suddenly, and life took a serious turn. Up until that point, I hadn't been aware of just how much politics affected me. Growing up in a poor household, moving from council house to council house, going to school in shoes with holes in, trousers that were too small or too long, I didn't quite know why that was happening. But after my mum died, I realised that our lives are political. Early 2017, I became homeless after a breakdown in my relationship with my step-dad. I had to present to North Lincolnshire Council as homeless, and after months of fighting with them, I was placed into temporary supported accommodation. I then moved into an awful HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) that had once been a hotel. It wasn't until mid-2019 that I finally moved into my own flat. It was a small council studio flat on a rough council estate, but it was mine, and I loved it.
Around the same time, I got my first ever paid job - a receptionist for the NHS. It was my first taste of real life. But the years leading up to that, I realised just how rough life can be. And I had no idea what was still to come. My life has always been political. Growing up poor, then experiencing poverty as an adult. I experienced crisis after crisis with my mental health, and even spent three weeks on an acute mental health ward. And don't get me wrong, I usually had some support from various services, but it wasn't very good support.
There is an expectation placed on people like me to just 'do it yourself', but I was never taught how to do that. I don't blame my mum or my family for those failings, because they also were never taught how to do any of that. I blame politicians. I blame 'the state'. Because for five years of my childhood, I went to secondary school and was taught about algebra, Shakespeare, the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler, and coastal erosion. But I was never taught how to pay a bill, or how to make a budget, or how to make sure I didn't fall behind with my rent and council tax. Those are vital skills that we should be taught from a young age.
Now, I'm not saying algebra, Shakespeare, Hitler, or coastal erosion are not valuable lessons to learn - but so far, none of those topics have helped me in my adult life, and I expect they never will. And all of those decisions to teach us those topics and not life skills are political choices, often made by people who went to private schools and expensive universities. People who have no idea what it's like to live on cheap noodles and tins of soup. People who have never had to worry about how they're going to afford to top up their gas and electricity.
In February 2026, we saw Hannah Spencer elected as the first northern Green Party MP. She left school at 16, then tried sixth-form, but dropped out, and then became a plumber. For the first time in years, I saw somebody who I could relate to elected as a Member of Parliament. It was an immense feeling to see that, and to have been able to go to Gorton and Denton to campaign for Hannah gave me a sense of pride I never felt during my years campaigning for Labour MPs.
Now, we know that Hannah won't get everything right. She may say things that are wrong, she may vote in a way I disagree with - but seeing her elected, and representing her community on those green benches makes parliament seem much less unattainable. She has made that place accessible to people like me.
I am standing to be a Green Party councillor on the 7th of May 2026 because I believe that politics can, and should, be done differently. Every time I leave my flat to campaign, I meet people who inspire me. Whether it's a Green volunteer who still lives with their parents because they can't afford their own place, or a voter who just wants the world to be a better place for their children, I am constantly in awe at the humanity we see around us.
There is power in community, and that's something that some political parties underestimate and will never fully understand. The care worker who works four 12-hour night shifts a week keeping elderly people safe. The nurse who has blisters on their feet after a gruelling shift saving lives in A&E. The teacher who helps shape the early years of a child's life and leaves a lifelong memory. They all deserve better than what we have. We shouldn't settle for less.
Politics is not a space which I want to be in. I have no desire to be an MP. But what I do want to do is help my community. That's why I am standing. Because, when all is said and done, Hull deserves better.
Promoted by Julia Brown on behalf of Jamie Strudwick (Hull & East Riding Green Party), all at 3 Easton Court, Beverley Road, Hull, HU5 1L4.
