Let’s win East Worthing and Shoreham together

  • The Tories have broken everything. Mortgages and rents rocketing. Wages stagnant. NHS waiting times out of control. Kids being sent to schools miles from home. Sewage pumped into our rivers and seas.
  • Tim Loughton’s been behind them every step of the way.
  • East Worthing and Shoreham deserves better – and I want to make sure we get it.

Why I’m standing

I’m asking for your support to be East Worthing and Shoreham’s first ever Labour MP.

For me, politics is all about giving every child the best start in life. But here in East Worthing and Shoreham, too many people are being held back by this Conservative Government and MPs like Tim Loughton. 

We are facing the greatest crises in a generation – from the cost-of-living to climate change.  Yet the Tories are more focused on dividing the country rather than improving the lives of ordinary people or fixing our public services that they have utterly broken. 

The next election offers the chance to elect a new generation of Labour MPs ready to change our country for the better again. We’ve got to win here to kick the Tories out and get Labour into government – and I’m up for the challenge. 

We need a candidate with the energy, commitment and campaigning experience to win. I’ve been a Labour activist for 15 years, and when I’m not out on the doorstep campaigning, I work for a trade union that fights for good, well-paid jobs, a just transition away from the climate emergency to net zero, and a fair work-life balance for all. 

With me, you will get no complacency: I’m ready to go door-to-door from Southwick to Sompting to persuade every last voter. 

Because I don’t just want to be your Labour candidate – I want to be your Labour MP, so that we can deliver the kind of change East Worthing and Shoreham needs from Westminster. And it won’t stop at the next election: I will work tirelessly to keep the constituency red for decades to come. 

About Tom

My work

I work for Prospect trade union, fighting for people to get a fair deal during the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation – including local people at Natural England, the Environment Agency, the National Trust and the Rampion wind farm. 

I’m proud to advocate for our union’s members who give so much to this country, whether it’s approving and rolling out the Covid vaccine or delivering net zero and ending the climate crisis. 

In previous roles at regulators and universities, I’ve worked to hold big tech responsible for scam adverts, helped steelworkers ripped off by unscrupulous financial advisers get compensation, and changed the law to stop businesses evading scrutiny. 

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Holding the Tories to account

Locally, I’m holding the Tories to account – highlighting the school places crisis and revealing the disgraceful discharge delays that are causing NHS waiting times to soar.

As your candidate I’d keep this up on the doors and through local media, exposing their appalling record on everything from the dreadful Rwanda asylum policy and the scrapping of climate targets, to their failure to raise wages for ordinary people. 

And I’m proud to be a Labour & Co-operative councillor for a council with a record of building new council homes, funding free school meals when the Tories wouldn’t, and delivering apprenticeships for local young people trying to get on.

Campaigning for Labour

I’ve been a party activist for 15 years, campaigning at every election and helping run successful campaigns in marginal seats, booting out the Tories and the Greens. 

I know how to combine traditional door-knocking with savvy online campaigning, to reach every last voter and talk with them about the issues that will swing their votes. And I know how to organise fast: when a new CEO at my old firm threatened to cut my colleagues’ pay, I built my union branch from 80 to 600 members in a matter of weeks. 

We’ll need a candidate who can run a modern, fresh and energetic campaign to win here in East Worthing and Shoreham. And we’ll need a candidate who has personal experience of winning elections, organising successful campaigns and delivering for residents.

Listening to every community

I want to represent all of our communities, in all of their brilliant diversity. Whether it’s joining an Eid celebration at the Worthing Mosque, taking part in a Big Clean Up on Broadwater Green, or marching at Pride, I will be an accessible and visible champion for everyone who calls East Worthing and Shoreham home.

Grassroots community activism and volunteering is the lifeblood of a thriving civic society and I will be at the heart of it. I’ve never been someone who stands by – I get stuck in. 

Fighting Covid-19

We all had to step up during the Covid-19 crisis. When my grandad died during the pandemic, I trained with St John Ambulance to be a volunteer vaccinator and vaccinated hundreds of people against Covid-19, to prevent other families having to go through what mine did after so long apart. 

 

How we win in East Worthing and Shoreham

I don’t just want to be your candidate – I want to be your MP, part of a Labour government led by Keir Starmer, transforming this community and this country for the better. 

I’ve got the energy and experience to turn East Worthing and Shoreham red, and the commitment to keep it that way. But I won’t do it alone – working together, we’ll build the kind of campaign that everyone can be a part of, and wants to be a part of. I’ll listen to every member and support our local branches and activists to thrive. 

To overcome the 7,474 vote gap, we need a strategy to win over soft Tories and Lib Dems, and turn out more young people than ever before. 

I grew up on the Sussex border where Labour members like me were the minority and I know the kind of principled and pragmatic approach we need to win over former Conservative and Lib Dem voters. And as someone in their early 30s, I know how to appeal to the many young families moving to East Worthing and Shoreham who are now a key, growing voter demographic in the area. 

I’ll use links with unions and London and South East CLPs to bring in activists to maximise our campaign reach, deliver Shadow Cabinet visits, and take my experience of raising tens of thousands of pounds for a Socialist Society to raise the money we need to run a professional, staffed campaign that can take on Loughton’s war chest.

My priorities for East Worthing and Shoreham

There’s so much we can do together – get in touch below and let me know what you want from your candidate.

  • Tackling the cost-of-living crisis
  • Saving our local NHS
  • Giving every child the best start
  • Fighting the climate emergency
  • Winning Adur District Council

Tackling the cost-of-living crisis

  • Too many Labour politicians act as if the South is paved with gold, but we know differently. Inequality is rife, public transport is unreliable, and the gap between wages and housing costs leaves too many people struggling to get by.
  • Social housing is in a parlous state, with Adur Homes failing to provide working smoke alarms or electrical safety inspections to more than 1,500 homes. 
  • I’ll fight for investment in local communities, affordable and decent homes, and good, well-paid union jobs.

Saving our local NHS

  • Local NHS waiting times have soared under the Tories, and it’s harder than ever to get a GP appointment or see an NHS dentist. Whilst out campaigning, I’ve heard too many stories of long waits for ambulances or surgery. This has to change. 
  • I’ll campaign for the investment in health and social care we need to bring those appalling waits down and for our carers to get more than a clap on the doorstep.

Giving every child the best start

  • For me, this is what politics is all about – every child having the best possible start in life. Labour halved child poverty when last in government – but the Tories have allowed it to rocket, with over a third of children growing up in poverty on some streets in Lancing. 
  • Tory failures have led to children being sent to secondary schools miles from home because of a lack of local places.
  • I want to see SureStart and children’s centres brought back, a fantastic school for every child, and good local jobs and apprenticeships for people struggling to get a foot on the career ladder.

Fighting the climate emergency

  • The climate emergency poses a huge threat to our coastal community. But instead of meeting this moment, the Government is watering down its ambition and jeopardising investment in UK jobs and businesses.
  • I’m the candidate with the experience to take them on – representing workers in renewable energy and nature preservation, and serving in the administration of one of the UK’s greenest councils.
  • I’ll fight to stop sewage being pumped into the Adur and the sea, protect the South Downs, and for the UK to lead the world to net zero with investment in good, green jobs in every corner of the country.

Winning Adur District Council

  • I’ve loved campaigning with members across the constituency, and want to grow our numbers, skills and resources so that we build on the historic Worthing Borough Council win by taking Adur District Council next May, ahead of winning the parliamentary seat at the next election. We need two Labour councils and a Labour MP working together to change things for the better.
  • It will be an inclusive campaign where everyone is welcome to play their part and wants to be involved. We won’t just run a winning campaign – we’ll have fun doing it too.

We’re backing Tom

“I know what it takes to win a seat off the Tories in the South, having won Exeter in 1997 after three decades of Tory control. Tom has what it takes to beat Tim Loughton, and having seen him campaign, I know he’ll run a first-class campaign that turns East Worthing and Shoreham red for the first time ever – and be a fantastic MP who stands up for local residents.”

Ben Bradshaw MP

“After 13 years of the Conservatives, our politics needs new blood, new ideas and a new vision for a fairer, greener future for everyone. Tom combines all of those with a genuine empathy for others, and a determination to help people thrive. I hope you will vote for him.”

Patricia, local member and former SEND educator

“I’m excited to support Tom. He’s dynamic, smart and having grown up nearby, he genuinely cares about and understands our community’s needs. Tom is all about creating opportunities for a better life for everyone. Let’s rally behind him for a better and fairer future!”

Darragh, local member and trade unionist

“At 96, I know the real deal when I see it. Tom’s energy and enthusiasm is infectious. His principles and commitment to public service will appeal to the kind of voters we need to win over to win here.”

Sheila, local supporter

“As junior doctors, we’ve seen our public services pushed to breaking point. We need a fighter like Tom to win so that we can protect and restore our NHS. He won’t just win the votes of young people but will be able to get students from Brighton, London and further afield out on the doors from day one.”

Zach and Vicky, Worthing doctors

“We need a winner. Tom is election-tested and ready to hit the ground running. He will be a brilliant MP who will make sure that East Worthing and Shoreham gets a better deal.”

Steve, local member

“Tom is the standout candidate to beat the Tories and win here. Tom has helped to get me involved in the local party and I know he will inspire others to do the same. Tom will be a breath of fresh air in stale Westminster – but also has the experience to really deliver for our community.”

Saffa, local activist

“During this cost-of-living crisis, Tom has been fighting for workers to get pay rises that keep up with their bills. He’s committed, principled and most importantly I know he can win and actually make a difference for us in Parliament. I hope you’ll join me in voting for Tom.”

Lisa, local member

“Tom is a committed European and proud internationalist who threw his all into campaigning for Remain. He doesn’t do anything by half measures and will send Tim Loughton packing. He will be a fantastic MP for East Worthing and Shoreham.”

Lord Adonis, former Chair of the European Movement

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