Newbury Labour has selected Louise Harriet Coulson – who very much represents the values of the Labour Party – in the upcoming Thatcham West by-election (April 19th).
Louise has lived in West Berkshire all her life, attending Willows School (formerly Greenham Court), then Park House School and Newbury College. Her education provided Louise with a keen interest in politics, law, sociology and the performing arts. She believes these subjects helped her to become well-informed and to take a keen interest in the pressing issues confronting today’s society.
Previously Louise worked locally in hospitality and she now combines working in health food retail with bringing up her young family. Her lifelong interest in politics is no surprise given her family’s roots in Labour Party activism: her father was a Labour councillor on the predecessor to West Berkshire Council, Berskhire County Council. In the mid 1980s Louise was taken to her first protest at Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp and joined the famous ‘human chain’ event.
Louise lived in Thatcham and was directly affected by the Floods of 2007. For the last few years she has lived in The Nightingales estate.
Louise has experienced first-hand the social and economic challenges that many of us face in West Berkshire, both during her childhood, young adulthood and now as a parent. Louise and her family will be returning to live in Thatcham where she is looking forward to playing an active role in community life.
She wants her own children to grow up feeling part of a community that cares about others, values political engagement and knows how to change things through collective action. As a parent with young children the future of the education system is one of her key priorities. The funding cuts currently facing Thatcham’s schools will be high on Louise’s priorities and she is committed to the www.schoolcuts.org.uk campaign. She will fight to ease the burden on school heads as well as reducing the bureaucracy imposed by the Council through efficient policy amendments.
Louise’s political views are driven by a dedication to equality and social justice. She would work toward: prioritising quality education for all children in West Berkshire; a social care sector that works with the NHS efficiently at a local level; and to ensure all housing issues related to Universal Credit roll-out are managed quickly and efficiently with care for the claimant at its heart.
For Louise, Labour is the party with a track record of delivering for ordinary people like her. She knows Labour is the only political movement that offers a vibrant and hopeful vision for the future: For the Many, Not the Few.