Dear Sir,

I would like to announce that I will be standing as the Labour candidate for Neville Ward for Great Aycliffe Town Council in the upcoming elections on May 6th.

This is my first time standing and I would like to say it has been both an exhausting but gratifying experience to do so. With usual campaigning not happening this time around we have not been able to knock doors or interact in the same way, but I have been out walking the Ward with my County Council counterpart and I would like to say one thing, it has been great fun. I have enjoyed every second speaking to every single person who has stopped and taken time to talk to us, to show support and hopefully they will place their faith in me on May 6th.

There have been calls for new blood on the town council throughout this election, for people to do things differently, fresh faces and new ideas. I would hope those qualities are recognised in me.

I will not be commenting on what my opposition are saying as I want to present my own vision to you, I want you to look at what I have to offer and decide for yourselves if you feel that is something you share for our town. There are three areas I want to focus on if I make the cut on May 6th, those are: opportunities for all regardless of where they started; mentoring the towns youth and working with the multitude of excellent businesses and schools on the town to ensure we provide those opportunities and the guidance for our people.

I have lived in Newton Aycliffe my entire life, it is an amazing town and we can make it better, together. Good luck to everyone standing and to those who get elected, there is a huge responsibility on your shoulders to deliver. It would be an honour to be one of the ones who help lighten the load.

I would love to hear from everyone on the town about what you think we can do together to achieve this, please feel free to contact me either on 07961 709093 or email at: simonhocking4neville@gmail.com

Simon Hocking