Caroline Sykes in Nelson

Labour Party Norfolk County Council Election Candidate for Nelson

About Caroline Sykes

I’m standing as your candidate in Nelson as I want to help tackle the many inequalities that exist across our county and to help repair the damage this Conservative Government and County Council have inflicted on so many in our communities. 

I have lived in the area with my partner for the past 20 years and have two children. They both attended the local infant and junior schools where I was an active member of the school community. My youngest now attends Parkside and my eldest is at CNS. 

Before having children, I worked as a Project Worker in Homelessness and Resettlement, supporting young people and families to maintain their tenancies and linking them to community support. Seeing this inequality first-hand is part of what politicised me to join the Labour Party.

As a parent to a child with additional needs, I have first-hand experience of navigating the system and know just how difficult it can be to access the services your child needs to achieve their potential.  I helped organise the Norfolk SEND Crisis March in 2019 and am Trustee of a local charity supporting families of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

My Dad was recently disabled last year so I understand the pressure it puts on families when their world changes suddenly and how undervalued unpaid carers are in society. I will work to increase the visibility of carers and ensure they get the support they need to carry out this essential role. 

I help organise The Big Give events locally collecting for food-banks, hostels and refuges. I also help run Norwich Food Hub, redistributing edible surplus food from local shops. Our aims are to combat food poverty and food waste by working with partner organisations who support people in need.

There shouldn’t be a need for Foodbanks in this day and age but until we get a Labour government to restore a proper welfare safety net, they are here to stay. I will work hard on your behalf to try and plug the gaps that people are falling through, while not losing sight of the system change that we need to allow people to live with dignity. 

Labour- led Norwich City council is already doing great work in addressing the Climate Emergency but at County level, the Conservatives are planning the damaging and expensive Western Link road across the Wensum Valley. Despite overwhelming evidence highlighting the devastating impact on the environment, wildlife and rare species and biodiversity they are pushing ahead. The County Labour Group have consistently voted against this road, and the only way of stopping it is for Labour to take control of the County Council in May. I support our manifesto of a radical transport plan for Norwich and measures to address rat-running through villages to the west of the city.

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