Author: Tina Brooker

I fell into politics quite by accident in 2014 and all because my local County Council brought in a policy switching off street lighting overnight my elderly neighbours felt vulnerable - this spurred me into action and the Right to Light Campaign was born. I started the Right to Light Petition which garnered over 11,000 signatures enough to trigger a debate at Kent County Council.  I delivered a speech in front of 88 Councillors and journalists but they refused to listen to the people and kept the lights off. I worked closely with a local journalist who followed the campaign from start to finish, publishing articles on an almost weekly basis. Word spread about the campaign and the Council's refusal to listen - my phone became a hotline, I was invited onto BBC Breakfast and live radio something I would never have contemplated happening in a million years.  Following a fierce 2 year battle and against all the odds streetlighting was restored throughout Kent. Spurred on by success and having witnessed how badly represented people were at local level I joined UKIP standing as a candidate in Borough and County elections narrowly missing out on a seat by 22 votes on one occasion. The run-up to the EU Referendum was an exciting time I joined the Grassroots Out Campaign and ran weekly street stalls delivering thousands of leaflets and meeting hundreds of people including Nigel Farage and Gerard Batten.  I loved the buzz and the fun was infectious.  I have been hooked ever since. I became a prolific poster on Facebook building up relationships in many groups, I was approached by the owner of a Website/FB page called Fortis est Veritas asking if I would like to write articles to post on his platform.  I have to date written 22 articles and really enjoy documenting the twists and turns of Brexit a very exciting time - we are writing history and it is essential that is fully documented. I am very excited to now be given the opportunity to join the UNN family as a Political Analyst - the next chapter in a very exciting 5 years of my life.