Looking to Promote Wellbeing in the South East

Aisha Cuthbert

Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Sittingbourne and Sheppey

Aisha Cuthbert, Conservative parliamentary candidate for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, discusses her commitment to the values of low taxes and self-determination, emphasising the importance of helping people become independent. She highlights her initiatives to boost the local economy, promote physical and mental wellbeing through the ‘Get Active with Aisha’ campaign, and address loneliness through community projects.

Why I’m Standing for the Conservatives

I’m standing for the Conservative Party because the Conservative Party aligns with my values on low taxes and the right to self-determination. People must have the right to make choices for themselves and their families, more so than the state does.

I’m also a big believer in giving people a hand up, not a handout, and I think that has a lot to do with my sporting background and working hard. Obviously, life is full of challenges but it’s about how you react to those challenges and the resilience you can show.

I’m in massive favour of supporting people who need the most help, but I also think that as a government, or as a Conservative party, our role is to help people help themselves and be independent.

What I Can Offer My Constituents: A Focus on Wellbeing

At the moment, there is a lot of focus from the Conservative Party on the economy, which is a massive benefit to residents of Sittingbourne and Sheppey.

When I’m out canvassing, one big thing I hear frequently is the need for more well-paid jobs, and the only way we can get that is by having a strong economy and by supporting local businesses. Therefore, our focus on the economy is a huge benefit.

Furthermore, I am committed to enhancing the overall wellbeing of my community. Recognising the profound connection between physical and mental health, I have initiated the ‘Get Active with Aisha’ campaign locally. Through weekly live video streams led by a certified personal trainer, accessible to all, regardless of fitness level or resources, I aim to promote regular physical activity. These 20-minute sessions, reminiscent of Joe Wicks’ lockdown workouts, require no equipment and can be easily done at home. Encouraging just 20 minutes of activity each day, whether it’s a brisk walk or a gentle exercise routine, can significantly improve both physical fitness and mental resilience.

These sessions serve as a platform for open dialogue, allowing constituents to engage with me directly on local and national issues. My hope is not only to foster a culture of health and activity within our constituency but also to encourage and campaign for legislation that prioritises personal wellbeing as a means to better serve our communities.

I also look at the things we’ve been able to achieve already in this constituency. The current MP, Gordon Henderson, has been really focused on delivering infrastructure, whether that be implementing road projects, creating more GP surgeries, or improving the education system in the local area.

The Issue of Loneliness

I’ve recently led an internationally recognised campaign on loneliness that came about when I was still a councillor. We were discussing projects that I could take on and thinking back to conversations we’d had in the past with residents while also drawing on our own personal experiences.

At the time, I had just had my first baby in the middle of winter, and I had gone from being a councillor, working full time with a very busy life, to all of a sudden being stuck at home. It was life changing and I did find myself feeling very isolated and lonely. I remember speaking to other mums in the local area who felt the same while in parliament, loneliness was on the agenda, with Tracey Crouch championing it.

While it’s important to tackle on a national level, we felt that a lot of the work to combat loneliness can and should be done at a local level. So, we started this project, which looked to bring together different services that could provide advice, help, and support to anyone in the area who was feeling a bit lonely.

We created a microsite and hired someone to be the loneliness champion for the council. We then brought together all of these different groups and services that could help people and it was fantastic because there were so many people willing to help.

Five years on and the project has been incredibly successful. We’ve had huge amounts of residents tell us that they’ve benefitted from the programme, so, as an MP, I would look to see what we can do in Sittingbourne and Sheppey to start a tackling loneliness project. In my experience, it needs to be led by the local authority to be successful.

I think every single council should have a loneliness champion. It’s not much in terms of cost but the advantages of it are huge as absolutely anyone can suffer from loneliness, regardless of age, gender, and circumstances.

Studies have shown that loneliness is more harmful to your health than smoking a pack of cigarettes, and nobody is immune to it.

Final Thought

This is just one of the articles that features in the ‘On the Campaign Trail’ section in the new edition of Chamber’s journal. To gain more insight from other PPC’s across the political spectrum, discussing policy issues that matter to them, sign up to our newsletter to gain access to the online version or visit our shop to receive a print copy of our journal.