Matt Dobson

“**About Matt**”

“Having moved to Fulham in 2024, it is a joy to be the Green Party candidate for Palace and Hurlingham, to offer to serve a community that has warmly welcomed my civil partner Peter (Vicar of All Saints Fulham), our scruffy labradoodle, Finley, and myself, as we share in the life, the spaces and places, and the future of this ward.”

“Through my work for the NHS as it supports and cares for people experiencing homelessness, and in church and community work at St Andrew’s Fulham Fields, I see, every day, the diverse realities of life in our borough where health, housing, quality of life and opportunity can vary from street to street, neighbour to neighbour. ”

“On May 7th, we will all come to the ballot box across Palace and Hurlingham not just with our different political opinions or party affiliations but with the variety of experiences of life. We may prefer the Hurlingham Club to Craven Cottage, would rather a pint at The Eight Bells than a picnic in Bishop’s Park. We may know the comfort and security of a home where we have grown our families up in, or feel a real and present struggle of finding affordable and appropriate housing or the need for connection and community. When we vote we each carry all our needs alongside the pressures and impact that decisions made locally and nationally have on the people and places we love and care about.”

“**Why Matt?**”

“When voting Green this election, we bring our needs, our hopes and our dreams for our green spaces, our river, our air, our safety, our streets, our schools, our vital local services and networks to work in more sustainable, healthy, impactful and equitable ways. ”

“When voting Green this election, we are saying to those with power, that in a world where violent, divisive and othering rhetoric becomes ever louder and normalised, where the climate crisis is denied, and the value and worth of others is questioned, denied or actively destroyed -we want to foster and create hopeful, just and compassionate communities across our borough, our country and beyond. ”

“When voting Green this election, we are expressing our frustrations with the political parties and wider systems that feel broken, we are acknowledging our anger and anxiety at feeling overlooked, unheard, or undervalued, we are demonstrating our right to be seen and heard, and acknowledging a desire for hope over hate.”

“**What will Matt do?**”

“Palace and Hurlingham may look to some, on paper, like a single story, a singular vote. But the stories of this place and our lives are varied, dynamic and each of them important and worth sharing, deserving of a councillor who listens openly, speaks honestly, and serves with care and compassion. Someone willing to bring both challenge and change with a hope-filled heart. ”

“In Palace and Hurlingham you may use up to three votes. A vote for me and the Green Party is an opportunity to do politics differently, to challenge the idea that “this is just the way things are are”. It is a chance to work together to raise our expectations, to be more ambitious for our neighbourhood, and to build a community that works and cares for all.”