So.......who exactly am I? Well, my name is James. I am 22 and I am Vice-Chair of Westhoughton Labour Party and a prospective candidate for Westhoughton in 2024.

I have lived in Westhoughton my whole life and I have watched it grow and develop and turn into the thriving little town you see today. I have always been very active in Westhoughton, I take pride in our town and I want to see the town and the lives of everyone who lives here change for the better.

LOVE WESTHOUGHTON - I am one of 3 former company directors of the Love Westhoughton Community Interest Company. You may have heard of this in the past few years. Myself and the other 2 directors worked with local businesses such as The Bank and The White Horse to raise money in order to purchase two publicly accessible defibrillator devices. This campaign was extremely successful and today you can see the devices installed on The Bank and The White Horse pubs.

CRIME - As a former Police Constable in the Bolton area I am very aware of the issue of crime and mainly anti-social behaviour in Westhoughton. My policing experience means I have seen both sides of the story in terms of the lack of policing presence in our town and my connections to Bolton police could prove very valuable in changing the way the police operate in our town (for the better!).

YOUTH - Although I have lots of experience in managerial and law enforcement I understand that I am a young candidate at the age of 22 years old. This may seem off-putting for some voters but I see it as a strength. I have fire and passion to make real change happen in our town. I think everybody is simply fed up of councillors being elected then disappearing for years until their seat is up for grabs again. As a matter of principle, candidates, and those successful enough to earn our trust should be active all year round to keep public confidence and that is exactly what I intend to do!