My vision

My vision: my hopes and dreams for our town of Buckingham and our nearby villages

I moved to Buckingham in 2007, after having spent the previous 20+ years in Oxford. This was a new beginning for me as my (now) wife and I bought our first place together in Maids Moreton. Just under two years ago we moved into the centre of town and now delight in having so much on our doorstep. 

Over the last 13 years I have fallen in love with our town, our river and, of course, the great community of people who live, study and work here. Since 2011, I have been a town councillor and have become very involved in all Buckingham and local matters. I set up ‘Buckingham: What Matters to You’ in February 2015 in order to provide a social media space for people to talk about ‘stuff’ and debate the future of our town and hinterland. A small team of us now manage the group which has grown into something I never expected with over 12 thousand subscribers! 

And in May 2017, I was afforded the honour and privilege to become the Town’s Mayor for two years. I blogged every event I attended (themayorofbuckingham.blogspot.com) in an effort to let people know what their Mayor was up to. The blog has been viewed more than a quarter of a million times. 

Everything I do (as a local politician, community activist and informal journalist) in and for our town is driven by my vision of what I want to help our place to become. I want to live in a place that:

• Is a thriving and buzzing market town and beautiful villages, with jobs, businesses and opportunities for all
• Retains our place's unique charm and celebrates its history 
• Provides a safe and healthy environment for everybody - really - everybody!
• Welcomes new people who move here and helps them to feel at home
• Is well connected via public transport and internet
• Looks after and cares for its young people, its older people and everyone in between
• Creates the place for people to feel a part of the community, alone when people want to be - but not lonely
• Makes it easy for people to be near their families if they wish to be - which means sufficient housing of all types for all incomes. 
• Does its bit to tackle the climate emergency - and reducing waste wherever we can

Above all, I want Buckingham & nearby to be a place where everyone can have dreams and ambitions, and the wherewithal to achieve them - a place where everyone is healthy, wealthy and wise. 

This is my vision for our town and nearby villages - this is the place where I want to live. If this is the kind of place that you want too, please vote for me on May 6.