Gareth was born and raised in Yorkshire, the eldest of two sons to his mum, a state primary school teacher, and his dad, a small business owner.
Gareth attended state comprehensive schools in Leeds and loved playing football, tennis and cricket. He went on to complete degrees at the University of Nottingham and at Harvard University where he focused on building greater knowledge of economics, trade and foreign affairs and won first prize in his class' debate competition.
Ever since watching his dad grow his own business, Gareth has wanted to be a businessman. For over thirteen years Gareth worked for a global investment company, doing business with some of the largest pension and sovereign wealth funds in the world, and travelling extensively in the United States, across Europe, China and the wider Asia Pacific. Gareth has a long history of serving in his community, and helped establish his company’s first charitable foundation which specifically supports small British charities focused on social mobility.
In 2019, Gareth left his business career to run for election in Grantham and Stamford constituency. He has represented constituents across Grantham, Bourne, Stamford and local villages ever since – navigating the first pandemic in a century and the biggest war in mainland Europe since the Second World War.
Despite these local challenges, Gareth has worked to deliver more investment and better services for local people. Compared to 2019, local infrastructure is stronger, communities are safer, children have better opportunities and healthcare has added capacity.
Gareth made strong reliable infrastructure a key priority and today local connectivity is much improved. He helped secure £4.3 million for safety upgrades on the stretch of the A1 between Grantham and Stamford, £9.8 million for local road resurfacing and maintenance, and an increase in Gigabit broadband access from 3% in 2019 to a remarkable 82%.
Working with Lincolnshire Police, Gareth has voted through tough new laws to keep local communities safe. Since 2019, crime is down by 15% in Grantham and Bourne, 189 new full-time police officers have been recruited, and a dedicated Rural Crime Acton Team has been established.
As the product of our state school system, Gareth regularly visits schools and gives children advice on their future careers and on the importance of public service. There are now more ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ schools in the local area than in 2019, record local school funding has been secured, and Gareth was delighted to open Grantham College’s new £2.6 million Institute of Technology as a strong supporter of local Further Education.
As Gareth said in 2019, “we rely on hospitals in the best times of our lives and the worst times”. With a growing population, he appreciates that improved capacity and a greater focus on prevention are integral to a sustainable local healthcare system. Following intensive lobbying by Gareth, Lincolnshire’s first ever Community Diagnostic Centre opened in Grantham. The doors at Grantham Hospital are back open 24/7 after a period of part-time opening hours, alongside a new nationally recognised Surgical Hub which expanded operating capacity by 50%. All of which has been backed with millions in new funding to serve people from across the county.
Given his background, Gareth has long been a champion of local businesses and has visited many across the area in his time as Member of Parliament. Since 2019, £5.5 million in national funding has been secured to regenerate Grantham high street, businesses have benefited from business rate and draught duty relief, and there are 340 more businesses open in the area.
This is a track record of local delivery which Gareth is proud to be standing on in the General Election on 4th July 2024 for the new constituency of Grantham and Bourne.