My name is Iva, and I am looking forward to joining an experienced team of councillors in Arbury. I grew up just outside Cambridge, and have since moved into the city where I’m studying part-time alongside volunteering for a local charity.

Arbury is a great place to live. As councillors we can work with residents to make it even better. Arbury has a strong community feeling, one that has helped people get through a really tough couple of years. Families are being hit really hard by the cost of living crisis. They’re seeing their bills go up, and their incomes simply aren’t keeping pace. Lots of people have suffered from the removal of the Universal Credit uplift, and a benefits system that works in favour of the Government, never the claimants. I’ve seen the effects of this as a volunteer, supporting residents across Cambridge. I’ve heard people’s stories. We’re going to need that feeling of community more than ever before, and as your councillor I would be there to strengthen local support networks in any way that I can, while also helping boost our already extensive anti-poverty work.

It’s important to me that everyone in Arbury feels heard, and as your councillor, I will make sure I listen. I plan to explore new, online ways of reaching out to voters – as well as knocking on doors. I’m passionate about engaging more young people in local politics, and I want to lead by example. Labour has a great team of young councillors here in Cambridge, and I think it’s really important that young people see people like them becoming councillors and helping give them a voice. A vote for me will give Arbury residents a strong voice within the city council.

Our open spaces are really important to our mental – and physical – wellbeing, and I will work really hard with the rest of the Labour team to make Arbury’s open spaces the very best they can be. I’m really excited to see the developments at St. Albans Rec. take shape, with the improvements that are being made to the sports and play facilities, as well as the biodiverse, wild areas. I’m very interested in exploring how, as a council, we can build on the progress the city council has already made towards net zero in 2030 and become more environmentally friendly. I’d be very keen to set up new zero-waste initiatives to lobby the corporate sector, to complement the work currently underway, and to look at ways to further decrease the use of plastics in our city.

I’m excited to get involved in the council’s community development work too. Growing up, I really benefitted from youth clubs and creative spaces, and I think we can do even more work in this area. As a volunteer at local holiday clubs and play schemes, I’ve seen first-hand the positive impact they can have. I want to see all kids – in Arbury and across Cambridge – having those same chances I had.

I really hope that you’ll cast your vote for me on May 5th, and I look forward to getting stuck in and helping make Arbury a greener, safer, better place for all its residents to live.