{"licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","attribution":"This Shit Matters (thisshitmatters.org); candidate data Democracy Club CC BY 4.0","generated_at":"2026-09-19T10:51:06.478Z","ballot":{"ballot_paper_id":"local.stroud.rodborough.by.2026-10-13","election_id":"local.stroud.2026-10-13","level":"local","poll_date":"2026-10-13","area_name":"Stroud District: Rodborough ward","voting_system":"FPTP","by_election_reason":"RESIGNATION","candidates_locked":true,"official_sopn_url":"https://www.stroud.gov.uk/media/kjsd5xrn/statement-of-persons-nominated-rodborough.pdf","democracy_club_url":"http://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/api/next/ballots/local.stroud.rodborough.by.2026-10-13/","retrieved_at":"2026-09-19T05:54:04.838212+00:00","previous_ballot_paper_id":"local.stroud.rodborough.2024-05-02","archived":false,"area_lat":51.732352102253,"area_lng":-2.22401427932742,"area_point_note":"Centroid of the ONS 2024 boundary. 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Stop me and say hi, I'm always available for a chat.\n\nI am a member of the Stroud District Green Party, where I serve as the Trade Union Liaison Officer (TULO). I am a member of Unite Community and the Communication Workers Union (United Tech and Allied Workers). I have and will always stand up for the rights of workers.\n\nI have worked with charity fundraisers, Stroud District Foodbank, Rodborough Sunday Social, Rodborough Youth and Rodborough CAN (Climate Action Network), to help meet the needs of our most vulnerable, young and elderly residents and to begin the work of building a sustainable and resilient community in Rodborough.\n\nRight now, with so much uncertainty around Local Government Reorganisation, Rodborough needs someone who can step in and hit the ground running. I am that person - I have years of District Council experience at the most senior levels, I understand what the council is going through and I am determined to give the community a stronger voice in local government.\n\nMy council roles have included:\n\n* Alliance Leadership Team * Vice Chair Environment Committee * Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Member Champion * Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Equity Working Group * Chair, Members Development Working Group * Board Director, Stroud Valleys Canal Company * SDC Regeneration Board * 2030 Community Engagement Board * Stroud Town Council Regeneration Committee\n\nI work as a web developer for agencies across the country. In my spare time I write for the Rodborough Commoner, Amplify Stroud and Good on Paper. I am an event organiser and host with For Your Information and have received 3 awards for community leadership.\n\nI am fiercely committed to honesty, representation, advocacy and being a clear voice for our community.\n\n“I am putting myself forward to represent Rodborough on the District Council so that I can play my part in achieving our climate goals for 2030. The Climate and Nature Emergency is the biggest threat to us all now and in the future.”","statement_retrieved_at":"2026-09-19T05:51:39+00:00","parliament_member_id":null,"parliament_match_note":null,"photo_url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/media/images/people/75336/f877789b-235e-4f29-967e-e7cf2691bb25.png","photo_copyright":"copyright-assigned","photo_uploader":"robin13","photo_source":"Uploaded by robin13: Approved from photo moderation queue","parties":{"name":"Green Party","colour_hex":"#02A95B","emblem_url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/media/emblems/PP63/1119_Emblem_1119.jpg","official_site_url":"https://greenparty.org.uk/","emblem_description":"World with petals and Green Party name English","parent_party_ec_id":null}},{"id":143,"ballot_paper_id":"local.stroud.rodborough.by.2026-10-13","dc_person_id":4708,"dc_person_url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/api/next/people/4708/","name":"Gerald Michael O'Brien","surname_sort":"obrien","party_ec_id":"PP7931","party_name_on_ballot":"Reform UK","party_description_on_ballot":"","homepage_url":"http://www.ukip-ashford.co.uk/a2%20News%20item.htm","wikipedia_url":null,"statement_to_voters_present":false,"previous_candidacies_count":3,"is_incumbent":false,"retrieved_at":"2026-09-19T05:54:23.710958+00:00","statement_to_voters":null,"statement_retrieved_at":null,"parliament_member_id":null,"parliament_match_note":null,"photo_url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/media/images/5525eee0413cb4432adffa51.png","photo_copyright":"profile-photo","photo_uploader":"JPCarrington","photo_source":"","parties":{"name":"Reform UK","colour_hex":"#12B6CF","emblem_url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/media/emblems/PP7931/7762_Emblem_7762.jpg","official_site_url":"https://www.reformparty.uk/","emblem_description":"Emblem 1","parent_party_ec_id":null}}],"claims":[{"id":290,"ballot_paper_id":"local.stroud.rodborough.by.2026-10-13","candidate_id":139,"party_ec_id":"PP53","topic":"environment_climate_and_energy","tier":"documented","claim_text":"Pledges to support public transport, cycle routes and sustainable investment in response to the climate emergency.","source_id":55,"source_quote":"* to support public transport, cycle routes and sustainable investment to respond to the climate emergency","applies_if":{"_published_by_source_rule":true},"geom":null,"status":"verified","supersedes":null,"drafted_by":"ai:claude (drafted from the candidate statement; quote checked verbatim)","created_at":"2026-09-19T08:44:05.435675+00:00","precision":"measurable","sources":{"id":55,"url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/person/13832/","layer":"candidate_statement","title":"Statement to voters: John Bloxsom","publisher":"John Bloxsom (candidate), via Democracy Club","published_on":null,"retrieved_at":"2026-09-19T08:44:05.435675+00:00"}},{"id":291,"ballot_paper_id":"local.stroud.rodborough.by.2026-10-13","candidate_id":139,"party_ec_id":"PP53","topic":"education_and_universities","tier":"documented","claim_text":"Pledges to challenge what he calls years of Conservative neglect, from children's services to roads.","source_id":55,"source_quote":"* to challenge the years of Conservative neglect, from children's services to roads","applies_if":{"_published_by_source_rule":true},"geom":null,"status":"verified","supersedes":null,"drafted_by":"ai:claude (drafted from the candidate statement; quote checked verbatim)","created_at":"2026-09-19T08:44:05.435675+00:00","precision":"measurable","sources":{"id":55,"url":"https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/person/13832/","layer":"candidate_statement","title":"Statement to voters: John Bloxsom","publisher":"John Bloxsom (candidate), via Democracy Club","published_on":null,"retrieved_at":"2026-09-19T08:44:05.435675+00:00"}}]}