Why I'm Standing for Cambridge: Labour's Cruel Cuts in the Wrong Places

I'm honoured to have been re-selected to stand as your Liberal Democrat candidate for Cambridge at the next General Election. I moved to Cambridge as an undergraduate at Murray Edwards in 2009, fell in love with the city, and never really found a good reason to leave. What started as student life became a teaching career - I'm now Assistant Principal at one of the most deprived schools in the county.

Every day in school, I see both the incredible potential of our young people and the huge barriers they face: underfunded services, struggling families, exhausted teachers, and a system that just isn't fair. That lived experience shapes everything I do in politics. Over the past seven years as a City Councillor here in Cambridge, I've learned that the best politics happens when you really listen to what people need. I'm putting myself forward now to be the next MP for Cambridge because Labour are simply not doing that. Instead, we are seeing a consistent pattern of Labour making cruel cuts in the wrong places while protecting their own interests.

Neglect for the most vulnerable in Cambridge

This week has provided a perfect illustration of Labour's misplaced priorities right here in Cambridge. Just days after appointing a new City Council leader, the Labour administration have forced through a 55% pay rise for this one individual, against the recommendations of the Independent Renumeration Panel’s Report which they commissioned.  While our Labour-controlled city council has been forcing through pay rises for their new leader, they've simultaneously been exposed for a shocking "scandal of neglect" that affects thousands of our most vulnerable residents.

Let me be clear about what's happened: Cambridge City Council has admitted that around half of the city's 7,600 council homes - that's approximately 3,300 properties - have no up-to-date safety surveys. This isn't just administrative oversight; it's a fundamental failure of Labour's duty as a landlord to some of our community's most vulnerable residents.

The Human Cost of Labour's Failures

The council's own report admits this failure occurred because the work was "not consistently prioritised." Think about what that means for families living in these homes. While Labour councillors couldn't find the time or resources to check whether their tenants were living in safe conditions, they somehow found the capacity to organise a 55% pay increase for their new leader.

The financial cost is staggering too. This neglect will now cost up to £1 million - money that should have been spent on essential repairs and maintenance for council tenants. As Liberal Democrat Housing spokesperson Cllr Anthony Martinelli rightly said, this is effectively a "£1 million neglect tax" on social housing budgets.

A Pattern of Wrong Priorities

This isn't an isolated incident. It reflects a broader pattern we see from Labour both locally and nationally - cutting support for those who need it most while protecting their own positions and pay packets.

Look at Labour's record since taking power nationally. They have refused to scrap the two child benefit cap, which in real terms impacted roughly 20,000 children in Universal Credit households across Cambridgeshire.  They have also announced cuts to disability benefits, removing essential support from some of the most vulnerable. Yet somehow, there's always money available for ministerial pay rises and expanding the machinery of government.

Liberal Democrats Offer a Better Way

The Liberal Democrats have consistently challenged this complacency both locally and nationally. We've been the voice calling out Labour's failures on council housing maintenance, highlighting cases of damp and mould, and demanding better standards for tenants. We've also stood firmly against Labour's cuts to winter fuel payments and disability benefits - recognizing that these aren't just statistics, but real support that real families depend on.

We understand that good housing is a fundamental right, not a luxury. We believe that keeping elderly people warm in winter and supporting disabled people to live independently aren't optional extras to be cut when convenient. We believe in putting people before politics, ensuring that essential services are properly funded and maintained, and holding those in power accountable when they fail in their duties.

Standing Up for Cambridge

That's why I'm standing to be your MP. Cambridge deserves better than a Labour Party that talks about caring for working people while neglecting their basic housing needs and cutting support for pensioners and disabled people. We deserve representatives who will prioritise the safety and wellbeing of council tenants over the comfort of council leaders, who will defend winter fuel payments for elderly people, and who will protect disability benefits rather than see them as easy targets for cuts.

We need MPs who will challenge this pattern of cruel cuts in the wrong places - whether it's here in Cambridge, where council house safety surveys are neglected while leadership pay goes up, or in Westminster, where vital support for the most vulnerable is slashed while government grows ever more expensive. 

The choice facing Cambridge is clear: more of the same failed priorities from Labour, or a Liberal Democrat alternative that puts people first. I'm standing because I believe our community deserves that better choice.