Dunstable and Houghton Regis Labour Party
DUNSTABLE ELECTIONS
Central Bedfordshire Labour Manifesto 2023
DUNSTABLE NORTH CANDIDATES
MATTHEW BRENNAN
Matt has lived in the Dunstable area his whole life. He is a husband, father, mechanic and Dunstablian. He has been a Labour Town Councillor for four years. Since his earliest time in office, he has pushed for greater accountability and accessibility, leading to the recording and broadcasting of Town Council meetings. He thinks the people of Dunstable deserve more of a say in how their town is run. Therefore, he will continue to champion transparency, accountability and compassion.
MICHELLE HENDERSON
Michelle has lived with her partner and children in the Northfields ward for the last 27 years. Michelle is keen to ensure Dunstable, continues to thrive and be a place people of all ages can enjoy living in. She is particularly concerned that street lighting is poorly maintained in the Beecroft area and it can feel unsafe down some roads. Michelle believes that alongside the rise in crime levels in the town, this has led many people to feel unsafe.
MATTHEW NEALL
Matthew lives locally and is a carpenter by trade. He works within the social housing department and sees the challenges that people face on a day-to-day basis. Matthew wants to contribute to change in Dunstable. Whilst growing up, Matthew attended Central Bedfordshire College and completed the NCS program for young adults. He developed leadership skills which contributed to raising money for local charities. In his spare time, Matthew enjoys spending time with family and friends. He is also a big Harry Potter fan!
CARL WILLIAMS
Carl has lived in Dunstable for over ten years, with his wife and four children. Two have now flown the nest. Carl has worked for over 30 years in social care and the last 15 years in homelessness housing and addiction. He also supported the local community through the pandemic and the current financial crisis with voluntary picking up food parcels, sorting out packs, and delivering to the doors of people in Central Bedfordshire and Luton. Every Friday for over two years, Carl has been dropping food and flowers to Luton and Dunstable A&E department to support our struggling NHS staff. Carl is very keen to become your Labour Town Councillor so he can continue to make positive changes to people's lives.
DUNSTABLE SOUTH CANDIDATES
WENDY BATER
Wendy is retired with one daughter and granddaughter. She has lived in Dunstable for many years and is currently serving as a town councillor, representing Manshead ward. She serves on the Community Services Committee and Finance and General Purposes. She is also serving on the High Street heritage action zone that is working with English Heritage to improve the High Street. She has enjoyed serving as a councillor and would like to continue working to improve Dunstable. Her hobbies, now retired, are walking and spending time with her family.
SALLY KIMONDO
Sally is a Senior Social worker in Children's Services. She is the founder of Luton, Dunstable and Surrounding Kenyan Community Forum. Sally believes in social inclusion and is passionate about giving back to the community by bridging cohesion between professionals and families from a community-less intrusive perspective level. Sally has lived in Dunstable for many years - she is not shy to address issues that are impacting individuals irrespective of social status, cultural differences or religion.
DUNSTABLE CENTRAL CANDIDATES
GREG ALDERMAN
A former civil servant, now part-time cleaner and Masters student. Greg moved to central Dunstable recently and loves the historical character of the town. He campaigned for the Real Living Wage to be paid to all staff at London Luton Airport. Greg believes that local government has a critical role to play in the cost of living crisis. He suggests policies like Free School Meals and cheaper buses with extra routes to invest in local people and the local area at this difficult time. You might bump into Greg walking his excitable Spaniels on The Downs.
PAUL CARUANA
Paul has lived in the local area for 27 years. He works in IT as well as serving in leadership at his local church. He is a volunteer with Dunstable Good Neighbours and has also served as a local school governor. Paul wants to see Dunstable return to its former glory, as a market town. He believes locals deserve better than oversized rusty flower pots and wants to fight for change and a better investment for our local community because Dunstable deserves it.
DUNSTABLE EAST CANDIDATES
ANDY GODLY
Andy has lived in Dunstable for 13 years having grown up a few miles away in Redbourn where he grew up and worked on the family rose nursery. After the business was sold he spent six years as head gardener at the Gardens of the Rose in St Albans before leaving to work for Houghton Regis town council and now another local authority. He believes Dunstable is a wonderful town with fantastic parks and gardens surrounded by stunning countryside. Local businesses need encouragement and support, and those in authority should be held to account for their decisions. Everyone should be given the opportunity to reach their full potential and we must do our utmost to promote Dunstable in a positive light.
ALEX BUTLER
Alex has lived in Dunstable for most of his life, involving himself successfully in playing and managing the town’s highest-profile football team, assisting hundreds of young players in developing their footballing abilities. Dunstable Town Council - decades of Tory failure.
Alex will oppose long-standing Tory incompetence and failures as a Council. These failures include the introduction of spiralling parking fees culpable for decimating the high street, and failure to back or invest sufficiently in a bypass which has driven away a once-thriving big industry, together with well-paid high-quality jobs. Partly responsible and failing to act regarding the ludicrous town centre traffic light debacle. Industry, high-street and high-quality housing and a thriving market were the heartbeats of a once thriving industrious town, which is now left on life support. We deserve better.
SHAFI KOTTADAN
Shafi has been a resident of Dunstable for a few years, and is a graduate in Sociology and Business administration. He is currently working in recruitment in the health care sector. Shafi is well aware of the challenges in social care and health care in general, and is very keen for improvement in these sectors. He thinks this could be achieved by more investment in the NHS and social welfare.
Shafi would also like to see more investment in schools as well, and would like to see Dunstable as a centre of high quality education.
DUNSTABLE WEST CANDIDATES
ANDREW HARLAND
Andrew, a retired Civil Servant has lived in the Northfields ward for 31 years. He now volunteers with the local Good Neighbours Scheme which supports mainly elderly people who are lonely or who need practical help. Andrew has continued his work as a Northfields ward rep over the last few years and he is particularly concerned for those in our community who are homeless, in poor housing, disabled or vulnerable. If elected as a councillor, he would hope to be able to help improve their lives.
JOHN SLOUGH
John has lived in and around Dunstable for most of his life. Being a qualified teacher, he’s concerned about the spending squeeze on schools and what measures have needed to be taken as a consequence.
He believes that inevitably we will see fewer Teaching Assistants in classrooms which will affect children’s learning in immeasurable ways. He is fully committed to representing your views on the Town Council and will assist with local issues in whichever way is possible.
SARAH FLINT
Sarah has lived in Dunstable for most of her life. Having grown up in Watling Ward, going to Watling Lower School, she would like an opportunity to represent the local community as her parents still live in this ward. Sarah now has 3 children and lives in East Dunstable. Over the years, she has volunteered in a soup kitchen and was a leader in a Brownie Unit in Dunstable. She has been an active member of the Labour Party and feels passionate about improving local services.
ROGER PEPWORTH
Roger, a retired headteacher, has lived with his family in Dunstable for nearly thirty years.
He says ‘I want to be elected so that I can shake this comfortable and too complacent council up a bit. It is more than time for change’.
CATHERINE HOWES
Cath was born in Dunstable and went to school here. She has worked and lived in many places but she returned to Dunstable 30 years ago. If elected, Cath cannot turn the clock back for Dunstable and make it a country market town again but she would like to make the town more attractive to shops and businesses. Cath would do all she can to get rid of the rusty planters that are filled with weeds. If getting rid of them is not possible, she would like to fill them with colourful flowers and bushes.
