Meet your 2020/21 cohort

Vicky is a Liberal Democrat councillor for Dunston Hill & Whickham East ward in Gateshead, winning her seat in 2019.

She was Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Blaydon at the 2019 general election.

She also works full time in online events as a managed event team leader and is heavily involved in local community groups and campaigns.

I have been a councillor in Worcester Park in the London Borough of Sutton since 2018 and I am one of the vice-chairs of the People Committee taking the lead on education and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). I am chair of our council group and a member of our local campaigns team.

Prior to being a councillor, I was a police detective in the Metropolitan Police where I spent a number of years in the intelligence unit specialising in serious youth violence and sexual offences. I have three school aged children and am a school governor at a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU).

Helen joined the Liberal Democrats in mid-2016 and was elected as a district councillor in St Albans in May 2018. Her particular areas of interest are homelessness, social care and the environment, and her approach to local politics is driven by openness and honesty with residents.

Helen has worked as a business journalist, writer and editor for most of her career, predominantly in the energy, shipping, technology and environment sectors. She recently qualified as a teacher of English as a foreign language. Helen studied languages at university and has lived and studied in Berlin and Minsk. She is married to another journalist, with two older teenagers.

Jess David is councillor for Moorlands Ward in Bath and North East Somerset. Jess was raised in Somerset and became a resident of Bath in 2015. A mother to three young children, she is an active member of the local community, working with local residents groups to improve parks and green spaces.

She sits on the Children and Adult Services, Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Panel and is also advocate for biodiversity. She has campaigned for better public transport and cleaner air in the city and helps to run a school walking bus.

Her career has included time as a political research assistant in London and Brussels. She spent the past ten years working in the environmental sector, focussing on climate change and flood risk management.

First elected in 2015 by a majority of only one vote in the Milborne Port ward of South Somerset District Council, Sarah was re-elected in May 2019 with 72% of the vote and then appointed SSDC Portfolio Holder for Environment.

Having recognised a climate and ecological emergency in May 2019, the Council the adopted its Environment Strategy in October 2019 with an ambition to be carbon-neutral by 2030.

Sarah leads on numerous environment initiatives such as bringing forward an electric vehicle charging network across the District, an e-scooter trial, development of a local Food and Drink Directory, an ambitious tree-planting initiative and engaging communities through an Environment Champions Scheme. She has also recently overseen the energisation of an innovative 30MW Battery Energy Storage Site project, with another similar project now in the pipeline.



Sarah is also Chair of the Somerset Cross-Authority Portfolio Holders Group responsible for the county-wide Environment Strategy. She chairs the Somerset Waste Partnership and is a member of the Somerset Local Nature Partnership Board.

My initial interest in politics was sparked by seeing social injustice on a local level during my teens, particularly in accesses to education, insufficient housing provision and a lack of political empowerment in poorer communities. This led me to join the Liberal Democrats as an active campaigner and, after graduating, I applied for a role with my local party working on a variety of election campaigns across Dorset. 

I’ve always been active in my own community, leading on a number of projects around recycling and waste reduction and having a good understanding of the needs of my community. In 2019 I stood for election and since then, I have become leader of the 14 strong Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council Liberal Democrat group. 

Andrew works as the local campaign organiser for York Liberal Democrats.

He was elected to City of York Council in 2019 for Haxby and Wigginton Ward.

Since then he has chaired a planning committee. 

Cllr Huw James was elected as a North Somerset councillor in May 2019 representing Portishead South ward.

His special interests are public transport, housing and employment and skills, and he is one of the council’s Youth Champion.

Cllr James is one of the youngest board members of a Housing Association in the UK, giving him a good insight into housing issues locally and the importance of local government working in partnership to tackle the housing affordability crisis.

Before being elected, Huw James worked in political administration for European Liberal organisations, European Liberal Youth and ALDE Party, in Brussels.

Huw is a keen cyclist, passionate about tackling inequalities, and wants to make the most of the privilege of being an elected councillor for his hometown campaigning for a more open, fair and green North Somerset.

By profession I am a Michelin-trained chef ,which has opened many doors allowing me to travel and work worldwide as well as to meet and work with a diverse range of people and within many different cultures.

Once returning home to the South West I wanted to give back to the community I grew up in, so I became involved with my local Liberal Democrat branch.

In all honesty I don’t have a strong passion for the ‘politics’ side of local government but I do believe in doing what I can and what is right for my local community.

Sarah lives in Wokingham with her husband and two primary school aged boys.  She also has triplet step-daughters who are all at university.   

Sarah worked in the IT industry for seven years and later transferred her skills into the charity sector working as a fundraiser. After having her boys, she decided to balance being a mother with her love of music and started a career as a freelance musician. She has two music degrees and is a classically-trained pianist and conductor, working predominantly in the choral and opera world.   

Sarah joined the Liberal Democrats in 2016 and was elected as a borough councillor in February 2019 with portfolios of arts, culture and  libraries and climate change and air pollution.

I am 39 and run a laboratory business established in 2006 within the agriculture and renewable energy sectors.  I have a degree in Russian but retrained as a microbiologist and agronomist as part of the work in the lab. I am heavily involved in the family mixed farm in Rutland. 

I spent many years competing a national level in both Rowing and athletics as a single sculler and discus thrower respectively.  

Thirty-nine difficult years have furnished me with a huge experience of life and decision making.  Arthritis nudged me into retirement, and I focus entirely on businesses and politics. I am a hardy individual, various ultramarathons and cold winters on the farm mean that I am rarely out of shorts. My partner and I are looking to adopt. 

I'm Matt Martin and I’m a district councillor in Mendip, Somerset. Before becoming involved in local politics I was a computer science teacher, and before that I spent many years providing corporate network support, training, and carrying out network hardware installations.



I entered local politics with the aim of helping to raise the profile of our corner of Somerset from the point of view of access to services and protection of the built and natural environment. My plans for the future of my county are centred on the development of education provision as a pathway to economic regeneration.



When not involved in working for my communities or representing the council I spend my time in my workshop researching valve guitar amplifier circuits, repairing and customising electric guitars, and enjoying the Somerset countryside on my beautiful Triumph motorcycle. I also study Politics and International Relations with the University of London.

My name is Sam McCarthy, I am 25 years old and from Colchester, Essex. I was elected in 2019 on my third attempt. After two defeats, I kept on campaigning, taking on local issues and working tirelessly to build support. At times, I felt like the fourth councillor in a three-seat ward. Being elected in 2019 was and still is, such an honour. Shrub End Ward is where I have lived for most of my life and I care deeply about it. 

I was elected to chair of the newly formed Policy Panel in June 2020. The panel provides legislative, improvement and policy advice to Cabinet. 

Outside of politics, I have keen interests in travel, music and computer games and the mediocrity of Colchester United. 

Josh Matthews is a Cambridge City councillor for Newnham Ward, and the Opposition Spokesperson for Climate Change, Environment, and the City Centre. Currently, Josh also works for Cambridge-based analyst firm HFS Research — covering sustainability, business and emerging technology.

Prior to this he graduated from the University of Cambridge's Engineering Department in 2018 (MPhil ISMM - an "MBA for engineers") and Loughborough University in 2017 (Chemical Engineering); at both universities his research focused on industrial sustainability—and he spent time in industry and at UC Santa Barbara. Josh is originally from Swansea and grew up bilingually, speaking Welsh as well as English.

Within the Liberal Democrats, Josh is chair of ALDES (the Association of Liberal Democrat Engineers and Scientists) and has previously attended the LGA’s Young Councillor Weekend, Digital Masterclass, and more recently the one-to-one coaching programme.

I have always been a Liberal Democrat and when offered the opportunity to stand for the party and represent the area in which I live I jumped at the chance. I am a proudly elected ward councillor in Watford, Hertfordshire.

Since my election in 2019, I have contributed to several committees, task groups and projects. My focus is working with the residents, businesses, groups and projects in my ward, they are my priority and getting to know how to best support them whilst learning how the council works is an ongoing process.

In my professional life I have always worked in Adult Social Care I am currently the Deputy Director with responsibility for providing loving, safe care for vulnerable older people in 12 Residential Care Homes for an international Christian charity.

I live in Watford with my partner and our three children.

I grew up in the Peak District and trained in London before moving back up north to Manchester.

I was elected for the first time in May 2019 to Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council taking the seat of Bredbury Green and Romiley.

At 35 years old I am one of the youngest members of our group of 26 Liberal Democrats in Stockport.

I am an actor by profession and theatre maker with particular recent experience in family theatre and I also run a smallholding with sheep, pigs and goats.

This year I was elected by my group to both roles of chair of Communities and Housing Scrutiny committee and the Shadow Cabinet member for Sustainable Stockport with oversight on climate change.

One of the best feelings in the world is knowing you’ve made a difference to someone else’s life. It’s that feeling that drives me to be an active member of my local community. Raising three children alone was not an easy job but I was determined to show my boys that helping others, helped us. Over the years I have taken on many roles. PTA person, School Governor and Community Preschool committee chairperson, to name a few. In November 2013 I was introduced to local politics. Walking into Cheltenham’s MPs office (Martin Horwood) I immediately felt the team’s passion and desire to help people and knew instantly that I wanted to get involved.     

In 2016, after meeting my partner, I decided I would run for council, but it wasn’t until May 2018 that I was elected onto Tewkesbury Borough Council as the leader of our group and the lead member for communities. I have always actively promoted the idea of community and being a councillor gives me the chance to do that a little more whilst working with people to help change their lives for the better. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is a prime example of how important our communities are. Within a matter of hours of lockdown and with the help of my fellow ward councillors and other community champions. We were able to set up street wardens for every street, a community Facebook page for advice and guidance and moved on to work with another local community group to offer a foodbank delivery service. Watching the community pull together and work to protect the vulnerable will forever remain a positive in such a negative time in our lives and is exactly why I got involved in my community and in local politics. 

Sally Symington has been a Dacorum Borough councillor since May 2019 and previously spent eight years as a parish councillor. Sally grew up in Hertfordshire and is a graduate of Bristol University with Batchelor of Science Physics) and University College London with Master of Science Public Policy. A former professional in the finance industry, Sally took a career break to raise her family and has subsequently gained extensive experience in the charity and voluntary sectors.

Sally has worked with the Liberal Democrats at all levels and stood as a parliamentary candidate in the 2017 and 2019 General Elections. As a borough councillor, her particular interests are in the emerging local plan, sports provision and local health issues.

Sally volunteers with Herts Help as a befriender and with the Hospice of St Francis for pony days. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking and horse riding.

Sam has a background in business management and retailing and was elected as the Cornwall Councillor for Saltash West for the first time in 2017.

Sam’s young family inspired him to get involved in politics and they are what drives him to do what he can to make the future better.

Challenged by balancing parental duties with council work Sam sits on the Planning Committee for the east of Cornwall and is the Joint Chair of the Tamar Bridge & Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee.

I have lived in Faringdon Oxfordshire for over 15 years and consider myself a community campaigner, supporting local groups, and securing funds for local facilities. I was voted into Vale of White Horse District Council in May 2019, after I decided that I wanted change for our town. 

I was born and brought up in Australia, and am a single parent, which I believe has influenced the way I see things, wanting to relate to all residents to ensure their voices are heard. I am new to the party and campaigning, and while I am currently a cabinet member, and aspiring to county council, I would like to retain the ethos of being a hardworking, community led representative. 

Like many Lib Dems I started ‘delivering one round’ about 10 years ago. But I soon got the campaigning bug and soaked up any opportunity for training and I have played a leading role in local and parliamentary elections in Portsmouth. I was a candidate in a non-target ward, an unsuccessful candidate in a target ward before winning in 2015 and re-election in 2019, so have a breadth of personal experience!

I am currently the Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education, in a Lib Dem administration and having the power to make changes for schools and families is what we campaign so hard for. My entire career has been in education, split between Primary and University teaching and I enjoy bringing the politics and education parts of my life together. I am also a graduate of the Next Generation Programme!

Tim Pickstone is Chief Executive of the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors, taking up this role in 2006. Tim has worked on the Next Generation Programme on behalf of ALDC for the last eleven years. 

Tim has also been a councillor on Bury Metropolitan Borough Council since 2000 and led the Group there for the last 15 years.