Mancroft – Amanda Fox

I worked for the RSPCA wildlife department for fourteen years. Wildlife gives me so much joy and I am passionate about increasing biodiversity in the city. It is well known that access to nature improves our mental and physical health and I feel strongly that every child should have access to nature, on their doorstep, as a given not a privilege. Nature provides the food we eat, the water we drink and the air that we breath so it must be prioritised in every decision. I want Norwich to be a leading light in reversing the ecological crisis and to see loopholes, that allow exploitation of our natural environment, closed up.

As a working class woman, I grew up aware of social inequality. That gap, between the wealthiest and the poorest in our society, has widened in my lifetime. That’s not okay and much creativity is stifled as a result, with people having to spend all their time scraping a living. I support a Universal Basic Income so that every person in Norwich has a chance to find their field of genius and thrive.

My work, as a homeless person’s support worker, brings me into contact with some of the most socially deprived people in our city. Social deprivation is the spawning ground of poor health, criminality and addiction and leads to sad tales of damaged lives. It is also, ultimately, more expensive for the taxpayer.

It is important to me that we tackle the route causes of premature death, antisocial behavior, and crime in our city, such as poverty, lack of community, and lack of mental health support
As well as being the right thing to do, this would, long term, be the most cost effective thing to do.

I support introducing safe using spaces, for drug users, which could reduce deaths from overdose, create earlier intervention by bringing users into contact with support services, take drug use out of stairwells and dark alleys, and take pressure off the police service.

I believe that a healing approach, to many of societies ills, is long overdue and our city will truly flourish when no one is left behind.