Luke Shirley

But the main reason I stood in this election, the reason I initially put my name down to hand out leaflets for Labour was my son

I've only been involved in politics fully since the 20 April and the reason was I wanted to be able to say to my son when he was older

that I stood up for my beliefs and did something real. I didn't just sit on facebook sharing articles whilst the country went..

away from the values that I hold dear. Values I believe will make our society better. I put myself out there to be shot at and criticised

and this was never about winning for me. This was about showing that my ideas and the way I can present them could get traction/ support

and they have. I will never forget the reaction I received from people at the Trades Council Hustings, to the BBC Radio Shropshire debate

Those experiences cant be taken away from me. The fact that I know if I had 100s of volunteers behind me I could be a real force for change

because I can connect with people. I've done it in my job for five years and I know I am effective at getting messages across and convincing