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1. Council roles

I was elected to Elmbridge Borough Council in May 2008 and I was immediately appointed Vice-Chairman of the Licensing Committee. I enjoyed this role immensely as I was asked to sit and adjudicate on applications to vary or to review the licenses of various establishments across the Borough.

I spent 2 years as a member of the Community Affairs Overview & Scrutiny committee and learned a lot about the various services provided by the council the local community. Through the Affordable Housing Member Panel I was able to contribute my 15 years of experience advising local authorities, housing trusts and the private residential letting sector.

In May 2010 I accepted an offer from the newly elected Leader of the Council, Cllr John O'Reilly, to join his Cabinet as Portfolio Holder for Housing. I was delighted to accept this position as it follows on from my work on Community Affairs and via the Affordable Housing Panel. However, I need to be able to fit in my new responsibilities around the demands of my day job and consequently I have stepped back from the other committees on which I served. I was reappointed to this position in May 2011.

2. Cobham Fairmile

My ward of Cobham Fairmile is almost exclusively residential. There is a complete mix of housing including large private houses, private estates, terraced houses and many Elmbridge HousingTrust properties. Cobham is not all about footballers and their wives, much as we welcome the presence of |Chelsea FC whose training ground is in neighbouring Stoke d'Abernon! I am well aware of the diversity and try to represent all the people who live in the ward, wherever they may live.

3. Local involvement

Living in Cobham with my wife and our two little girls I am passionate about protecting the town as a safe place where children can play and enjoy just being children. We are members of |St Andrew's Church and I support the aims and activities of the |Cobham Conservation & Heritage Trust and the |Cobham & Downside Residents' Association. I assisted the CCHT in their successful application for funding for their Riverhill riverside walkway improvement project.

We believe in supporting our local shops and businesses. The old saying "use it or lose it" was never more appropriate than in these difficult economic times.

4. Personal background

I was brought up in Grimsby in Lincolnshire which has left me with a worrying fondness for |Grimsby Town FCand went on to |Wellingborough School in Northamptonshire. After that I obtained a first class degree in French from |Birmingham University and then a Master's degree at |Brasenose College, Oxford. French language and culture are an abiding interest.

I then qualified as a barrister and I practice from |Lamb Chambers in the Temple, London where I specialise in landlord & tenant and housing law. I act for all sorts of clients from major institutional landlords through local authorities and housing trusts to the individual tenant of a dilapidated flat. One day I might be discussing a mansion in Holland Park and the next I could be looking at damp and mould growth on a council estate in Brixton.

5. Political experience

My involvement with politics goes back to my time at Oxford where I was a member of the University Conservative Association and helped in John Patten's successful defence of his Oxford West & Abingdon constituency in the 1992 general election. I was the Conservative Parliamentary candidate in Don Valley, Yorkshire in 2001 where I stood against the former Labour minister Caroline Flint. I then was elected Chairman of the |Hammersmith & Fulham Conservative Association and fulfilled that role 2001-2004. During that time we repaid a deficit of £18,000 and put in place a 3-year campaigning strategy which led to the election of |Greg Hands MP in 2005 and the election of a Conservative majority on the borough council in 2006.

Any resident of Cobham Fairmile is welcome to contact me either by phone or email. I am here to help.