Meet the candidate ~ Seamus Bennett, Felixstowe Coastal

Seamus Bennett was born in Felixstowe in 1964. After a happy childhood in the town, he moved away, first to study and then to work in teaching and overseas development - while maintaining his strong Suffolk roots. In 2008, he moved back to Felixstowe to support his parents and to give his young family the same advantages of growing up in Suffolk. He worked in two local charities, the job centre and Felixstowe Academy. Then in 2016 he decided to follow his dream of making swimming his career as well as his hobby, gaining Swim Smooth certified status and setting up a successful swim coaching business.

Indeed, Seamus has swum in the sea off Felixstowe since he was five and in 2012 set up Felixstowe Swimscapes sea swimming group, which now has over 400 members. True to Seamus's own outlook and in the spirit of open water swimming, the group is welcoming, informal and inclusive. As well as attracting people year-round from near and far to Felixstowe, Swimscapes has opened up sea swimming to hundreds of people and is something Seamus is very proud of. It is some of this approach which Seamus intends to bring to our local council if elected to represent the people of Felixstowe. He will be inclusive, positive and innovative, while respecting and harnessing Felixstowe's advantages and traditions.

Seamus has an international outlook, which has made him more, not less, proud to be British. Yet, having seen how division and corruption can hold back progress in many countries, he is also a passionate European, believing that European values and culture are a force for good which Britain should be at the heart of. Felixstowe, as a globally-connected trading town, should remain as dynamic and outward-looking as possible and Seamus will work towards this when elected.