Forget about stuffy speeches and political jargon, I want to talk about one of my favourite things - your pets! I have had the pleasure of meeting many cats and dogs and even a few ponies and a parrot during the time spent knocking on doors introducing myself across the constituency. As a huge animal lover and someone with a big track record in animal welfare ( I was behind the Animal Sentience Act, Increased Sentencing for Animal Cruelty and Licensing of Animal Activities Regs), I have to say I am beyond happy to have found so many other animal lovers!
Not everyone is thrilled to find a politician on their doorstep (I can understand why considering some of the national goings-on) but the thing about pets is they always give you the best kind of welcome. It is a bit of pet therapy and they all have their own personality and character.
This is going to be a very serious and long election campaign and I am totally up for explaining who I am, what I will do and how I will solve problems in the constituency. But in-between all of that I would like to document the animals residents of Dorking & Horley too. This will be a bit of fun over the months until the day you vote but also there is a serious note to it - animals have a key role in our society often acting as companions to the elderly, help to the disabled, support for young people with mental health needs and providing us with fitness through the walks across our amazing countryside. On top of that there are strong links from animal abuse to human abuse such as domestic violence and so we should make sure we have a society that is kind to animals.
