In the next of our series of interviews with May’s local election candidates, JesmondLocal spoke to Tom Appleby. With two degrees in Law and Politics – as well as prior experience as a parish councillor – he hopes to secure a Liberal Democrat seat for South Jesmond.

What qualifies you to be a councillor in South Jesmond?

I’ve had a strong affiliation with Jesmond since I was a kid. Before I did to my Law degree, I also studied Politics at Northumbria University and worked evenings as a checkout supervisor at the Co-op. My stepfather was based on Osborne Road and I used to work with him during summer breaks; and visit the local businesses on a daily basis, becoming better affiliated with Jesmond. My stepfather was a forensic quantity surveyor and would be used as an expert witness in contract disputes, so I came to see how law works and the ways in which it could help people out; which was one of the reasons I decided to study Law after my Politics degree. Equally I’ve had various friends, family and friend’s family who have lived – or do live – in Jesmond so their concerns and issues are those I’ve wanted to take on board. Equally I have experience both as a parish councillor and district councillor for Wylam, in Northumberland.

How will your previous experience as a parish councillor help if you were to win the Lib Dem seat?

Using an example from last year, coming out of lockdown there was an awful lot of anti-social behaviour due to village’s proximity to the coast to coast cycle route, wherein quite a lot of people came from all over to visit, which was lovely for the village but had negative consequences also. And it was through small community groups such as “Whats On Wylam” that the parish council were able to get involved and we were able to identify trouble spots and then get the police involved to implement a dispersal order. So it was all about trying to help the community but also keeping the peace and showing support which are transferable skills to local council.

Jesmond has a strong sense of community already; it’s like a small village attached to a city centre in a way. If you think about it geographically, it’s flanked by parks and is then contained, quite like a village. In addition to that, with my time on the parish council, it helped me develop a certain level of empathy: it’s hard to try and do something for someone when you can’t see their point of view or understand what their issue is. So it’s about problem solving.

You mentioned local concerns and issues; how have they influenced you to run for South Jesmond?

Having spoken with residents – particularly those living on Eskdale Terrace – there’s a concern surrounding the built up traffic close to the High School For Girls. They’ve raised concern about the road getting more and more busy and thus its actually having a negative effect on people’s quality of life. In addition to that, I don’t agree with how the Council went about it, they just arbitrarily closed it without asking people about it or getting locals opinions. I’m very much in favour of asking people for their opinion – especially those who live locally – because they’re the ones who have an idea on how best to fix a problem or ongoing issue as they live with these problems day in and day out. So really it’s just a case of pushing to get these ongoing issues resolved and the best way to do that is by actually asking for everyone’s opinion and listening to their concerns.

Was there anything else that served as a strong impetus for you deciding to run this year?

Having stood for parish council as well as spending time as a distract councillor in Wylam, I know it’s all about doing the basics and doing them properly. For example, there’s a pot hole on Holly Avenue which is – very old and right down to the original cobbles that make up the streets. Equally, quite a few people have contacted me to complain about the E-scooters and raised concerns for local safety. So I reached out to the city council for a discussion about them. It’s been hard not being able to go outside and speak with people in person over the pandmeic, but social media has been a really good way of keeping in touch with community about shared concerns, such as road safety issues like the Holly Av. pot hole and the electric scooters.

Obviously COVID-19 restrictions are now starting to relax across Jesmond, however has the pandemic influenced your stance on community safety in any way?

The pandemic has definitely enhanced my outlook on community safety. Because we’ve only been allowed to leave our house once a day, the little things have become more and more important in the last year or so. So whether you’re going out for your only walk of the day – or going out to get the paper, it will have a negative effect on your quality of life if you need to skip over rubbish, walk over potholes in order to do those things. Yet again it’s the negative effects on local lives that can be easily influenced by the smaller issues.

Especially now, mental health is becoming even more prevalent an issue which has been enhanced by the pandemic; where people are either working or having to stay home, all the while not having the normal support systems in place that they’d usually have. Or if you’ve other issues as well, with regards to people living alone or people who’ve suffered a loss and are unable to grieve in a normal way because of restrictions. Therefore anything we can do as a community to help improve people’s quality of life – big or small – is a bonus in my opinion.

And lastly can you offer any advice on voting safely this year?

I would strongly encourage people to vote in any way that they can. It’s so important that we all have a say in where we live. I appreciate people may not be comfortable voting in person this year, so I’d advise a postal vote instead – it’s a safe option!

You can meet and quiz all the local election candidates when JesmondLocal hosts a Zoom version of its traditional local election hustings on Tuesday May 4th from 7:30pm to 9:30pm.

This online event is free, but to be able to attend, you must register. Details of the Zoom link and passcode will be emailed to all registrants just a couple of hours before the event begins. We will also be emailing registrants with details of how they can put their questions to the candidates.

To get your free ticket, register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jesmond-local-election-hustings-2021-online-tickets-152269302583