Graham and his wife Mal have lived in Lee on the Solent for over 40 years. He moved here with his family whilst serving in the Royal Navy where he served for 24 years both above and below the waves. His daughters went to local schools and Graham has been a Gosport Borough Councillor since 1998 and has served on all of the service boards. He is presently the Leader of the Conservatives.
It was a great honour for Graham and Mal to be Mayor and Mayoress of Gosport in 2005/6 when they represented the borough at many wide and varied events which culminated in being presented to Her Majesty the Queen during the Trafalgar 200 celebrations, where they also met the Duke of Edinburgh. They also attended over 400 events.
First elected as a Hampshire County Councillor in 2011 he represents the Lee Division (Lee on the Solent, Grange and Rowner) He is Chairman of Solent Sea Rescue Organisation. Lee on the Solent is a special place both to him and his family, as it is to most residents of Lee on the Solent. Everyone seems to take an interest in the community and try to improve it.
In Lee on the Solent and Grange, Graham has delivered car parks and play areas for all ages in the Alver Valley as well as toilets and a café. He also brought a new Splash Park and children’s play area to Lee Seafront which opened in July 2019 and has been a great success for the children He has also had much-needed bus shelters installed as well as cycle racks on the seafront.
He wants jobs not houses at Daedalus and is keen for much-needed jobs to be based. He has worked with local groups such as the Lee Community Association where he is also an active member, Christmas in Lee, and the Lee on the Solent Residents Association.
As a Hampshire County Councillor, Graham has a devolved budget to support local groups and projects such as the Rowner Carnival, National Coast Watch, Gosport Heritage Days, Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport Marine Scene, Focus Youth Club, Gosport Scouts, St Faith’s Church, Lee Community Responders, Gosport Bowling Club, Lee Voluntary Care Group, St John’s Ambulance, Rowner Parish Church, Gosport BMX Club, Lee on the Solent Scouts,
Defibrillators in both Lee on the Solent and Grange, CCTV for Rowner Community Trust, Give Gain and Grow, Christmas in Lee, Solent WI, Lee Infants and Junior School as well as the renamed Siskin School, Alver Valley, The Nimrod Centre, LEE Festival events and many more. He also replaced the old notice boards with new community notice boards in the High Street and Anstice Court, where local information is displayed. He is heavily involved in the LEE.
Hub which opened in February 2021 in the old Lee Library building in the High Street. In 2021, you gave Graham your continuing support to improve the quality of life for Lee on the Solent and Grange residents. He believes that the Conservatives have achieved that. As leader of the Conservative group, he is leading the fight to ensure money is not wasted on the Criterion and other Liberal Democrat follies.
Graham was also the first person living in Lee on the Solent to be Chairman of Hampshire County Council in 2017-2018. A great honour for a truly local man.
