Labour Party member. I rejoined the Labour Party before the 2010 General Election as I knew that if the Conservatives were to win they would use the deficit as an excuse to make cuts to welfare and public services. I had been a Labour Party member in the 1980s but was disillusioned by the cliques and factions in the party. This put me off politics for many years, until I realised that I had to get over this if I was to make a difference.

CLP. Since I rejoined the party, I became a GC member of Brentford & Isleworth and also served as Press & Publicity Officer and Vice-Chair Membership. I am now joint Fundraising Officer in Kensington CLP.

Stand up for Labour. One of the first things I did as a member of the party was to put on a comedy night fundraiser for my local branch, Isleworth & Brentford. This proved to be a success so I did it again for the CLP on a couple of occasions (raising over £1,000). I was then asked to put on fundraisers for other CLPs so I set up Stand Up For Labour in the summer of 2012.

In the past five years I have organised over 200 comedy nights across England, Scotland and Wales that have raised over £150,000 for over 100 CLPs. The motive behind this has not just been to raise money for leaflets and campaigning, but to raise morale for members and supporters.

NEC candidate. I became frustrated at the lack of support for the grassroots of the Labour Party so I put myself forward for election to the NEC in 2014. As a candidate who was not on a ‘slate’ – and someone who had not stood before – I am proud to have received 12,539 votes.

Basic beliefs. I was inspired to get into politics by my parents, who are both Quaker Socialists. Although I am not a Quaker myself, I have inherited beliefs in honesty, hard work and pacifism. I believe there is something wrong with a society where there is a great gulf between rich and poor and where many people do not think there is any point in politics.