About Me

I was born in Sheppey, Kent, but left the UK when I was 11 years of age to live with my family overseas. We lived in South Africa for about 10 years and in this time I was fortunate to travel to many other African counties including Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Botswana and Swaziland.

In 1991 I returned to Europe to complete my musical studies and lived and worked in Finland, Spain and Holland, finally coming back home to Yorkshire in 1997.

As a result of my time living in Europe I can speak fluent Dutch, passable French and Spanish, and Finnish for beginners!

Music

My early years as a professional musician was spent playing in various symphony orchestras. I was fortuntate to travel widely and have performed in most European capitals, the USA and further afield including China and Japan.

In 1997 I began my Ph.D in British Clarinet Music here in Sheffield. Since then I have taught music at the world renowned Purcell School, a specialist music school. I now lead the instrumental department at Birkdale School in Sheffield.

My Family

My wife Gabrielle and I have three children. Francesca is 12 years and she loves maths, science and her guinea pigs. Sebastian is 9 years old and enjoys computers, art, music (guitar) and football. Theodore is 5 years old and has just started school this last September.

Politics & Me

I was a local Councillor for 8 years, holding various Portfolio Holder positions and also becoming Deputy Leader. At the 2005 General Election I contested Sheffield Hallam against Nick Clegg MP. In 2010 I was the Parliamentary Candidate for Penistone & Stocksbridge. At this election the campaign team and I achieved an 8% swing from Labour to Conservative. We were able to drop the Labour majority from over 9,300 votes to just 3,000. I care passionately about working hard to make a difference for all people. It is the small things that can really help peoples’ lives to be more comfortable and I honestly believe a committed and hard working local candidate can make a huge difference.

Since December 2010 I have been Board Representative for the City of Sheffield Association and speak for the Party across Sheffield and South Yorkshire. In February 2011 I was appointed Conservative Policy Forum National Chairman for the Learning & Culture Sectoral group.

Our Community

For over 10 years I have sat as a local Magistrate. I am also the Deputy Chairman of Trustees at Paces Charitable Trust in North Sheffield - our school for young people with Cerebral Palsy is making fantastic progress and we continue to work hard to provide the very best learning environment for our pupils.