In the years my brother and I have spent campaigning for justice for my sister and the other victims of the Birmingham Pub Bombings, I have met many people, ranging from those in authority and with influence to the ordinary man and woman in the street.

I learned very quickly that it was your ordinary people that are the most reliable and trustworthy. What they lack in influence they more than make up for in substance.

We have been shunned by those in authority and those with influence. It was ordinary members of the public who came to our aid, it is they who stood shoulder to shoulder with our families and gave the Justice for the 21 campaign the profile it has - we will forever be in your debt.

While talking to our supporters, some of them, I might add, serving frontline police officers - people who experience life at the coalface rather than the influential who tend to live in a bubble, it soon became apparent many share similar concerns regarding law and order, generally.

People feel isolated and as a result unsafe, from city centre business owners, to the owners of industrial premises, even people in their own homes. The public believe the police, particularly senior officers, no longer see them or their concerns as a priority. The public believe the police have virtually withdrawn from the streets and no longer act as a proactive deterrent, but as solely a reactive, politically driven force.

In the last 12 months or so, we've seen a 35 minute response to a Birmingham city centre machete attack. City centre armed robberies, attacks on schoolchildren not responded to at all.

The main complaint, and this again has come from some frontline officers, seems to be that the senior management within West Midlands Police are detached from the everyday realities of life, more concerned with virtue signalling political gesture policing rather than the nuts and bolts of basic crime fighting. Criminals in this city appear to have lost their fear of consequence, in some cases returning to the scenes of their crimes to commit more; simply because they know the chances of them being caught are negligible.

Many people in the West Midlands, many of them supporters of Justice4the21, feel abandoned, desperate in some cases. They feel unsafe and don't know what to do.

I am now a seasoned campaigner, through necessity I have built myself a profile. The ordinary people of the West Midlands have stood by me, my family and the other Birmingham Pub Bombings victims’ families, and I now believe it is time for me to stand by them.

Therefore I have decided to launch my candidacy for the office of Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands. If I am elected to the office of Police and Crime Commissioner I will fulfil the role the position was created to do, represent the interests of the People, not the old or new boy’s networks the current incumbent is so desperate to protect. If successful I will enter the office as one of you.

I will require funding as I will be running as an independent candidate that will allow me to compete on a level playing field alongside the other well financed candidates who are backed by big political party machinery. The average spent by most candidates is approximately £11,000, hence the total on here for £10,000.

If elected, I will report back to YOU, the People the realities of the situation. I will not be a one issue candidate, although it’s obvious that victory will propel the Justice4the21 campaign. I am determined to represent the people who would potentially elect me, and to serve their interests and address their concerns.

I am an ‘independent’ candidate with no political affiliations, with no political party pulling my strings. If elected, I will do the job as it states on the tin; I will represent those who feel ignored and unrepresented, because we know exactly how that feels.

If you would like to help raise funds to assist me in my campaign to be the next West Midlands Police & Crime Commissioner, that would be gratefully received. The Elections Office states "We publish information about donations over a certain amount made to political parties and nonparty campaigners based on reports they provide to us. Returning Officers make returns prepared by candidates available for inspection after elections. These include details of donations." These may include donors' details may be published if a donation is over a certain amount. https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdf_file/Factsheet-Crowdfunding-UKPGE-2015-.pdf

Actions speak louder than words. Give me the opportunity to ‘act’ on your behalf. Thank You