Egg packer, travel agent, lorry driver, business owner, lecturer. These are just some of the jobs I’ve done during my lifetime here in the East Riding and Hull.
But I’m not finished yet. The next target on my list is to become the first Mayor for Hull and East Riding.
Like all the other things I’ve done, it’s something I’m working incredibly hard to achieve. I’ll need all my resilience, experience and determination to get there. However, I know I’ve got it in me to get elected and then get stuff done.
I’ve been getting stuff done my whole life, whether it’s through the jobs I’ve had, raising my two amazing children, setting up and running a food bank in Goole or becoming the first female leader of East Riding Council only four years after joining the authority.
Getting stuff done to improve the lives of people living and working her is what I am all about.
It’s why I want to become Mayor. We have a unique opportunity to push this region forwards – to grasp the nettle so Hull stops being a forgotten city and East Riding gets the opportunities people here are craving for.
As Mayor I will strive for better roads, better buses and better trains. I will push to improve Broadband and phone signals and I will increase jobs, skills and training for local people. And I will do it without increasing taxes.
I’ve taken on some very big challenges in my life and this is another. But with your support and backing I can become the Mayor for Hull and East Riding and get stuff done.
Role of the Mayor
The role of the new Hull and East Riding Mayor is to look at where we need to invest the money, whether it’s in Hull or the East Riding.
People are fed up and sick of the politics of knocking spots off each other. People just want somebody who will shout for this region.
There will be £400m to deal with and then it’s about bringing more investments, jobs and improvements for the region.
The money will be spent where it needs to be spent. We have people in Hull think it’s going to be spent in East Riding and people in East Riding who think it’s going to be spent in Hull. That’s not what the Mayor should be doing. The Mayor should be looking at the region strategically and doing what’s best for the region.
I think it’s crucial to let everybody here know what the Mayor means and how crucial it is. The Mayor will be a key voice in Westminster fighting for this region and it’s really, really important.
People often say Hull feels like a forgotten city, so we need people to come out, vote for the mayor and make sure it isn’t forgotten anymore.
Skills
A key part of the Mayor’s role will be looking at skills, jobs and training.
If I become Mayor it will become a key focus for me. I will look at how we can re-skill and up-skill people here.
It’s really, really important, because of the investments we have in the region now and the new investments which should come thanks to the new Mayor. We have to make sure we have the people here – of all ages - with the skills to take on these new opportunities.
And I am a huge advocate for lifelong learning. I am part of lifelong learning. I went back to our biggest Further Education college in Hull when I was 40. I got and education and I changed my career.
You’re never to old to learn and I was fortunate enough to become a college lecturer and I would be teaching many people in their 50s and 60s who wanted to learn new skills and retrain.
Even those who had been in their jobs for 30 years or so. I would always say ‘if you want a change try it’.
And it will be up to the Mayor to make sure there are the jobs and opportunities for everybody who wants one so they can put their skills to good use and help us drive the region forwards.