Today (Friday 8th March 2024) is International Women’s Day — a day dedicated to celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
We thought it would be great opportunity to find out more about Sarah Redrup, a young female Liberal Democrat, who was elected as Isle of Wight councillor for Wootton Bridge in the summer of 2023.
Aspiring to do more for the community
Simon Perry from News OnTheWight sat down with Sarah recently to learn more about her journey into politics and her aspirations for engaging with community issues.
If you want to dive straight in, jump to the podcast below. Our conversation lasted well over two hours, but it provides a great insight into why a young person might want to get involved in local politics and how Sarah has found it so far.
What we spoke about
Given the length of interview, you won’t be surprised to hear that we covered a lot of ground. There was a wide range of subjects discussed, which included:
- Sarah’s personal journey from childhood to politics
- The importance of communication and representation in politics
- Local government roles and responsibilities
- Politics and policy with a young person
- Council policy and collaboration among members
- Running for local council with the Liberal Democrats
- Being a councillor, expectations vs. reality
- Personal information privacy in politics
- Voting and democracy in the UK
- Time commitment and management for local council duties
- Representation and diversity in local government
- Balancing personal beliefs and public opinions
- The role of councillor in crisis situations
Early life and background
During our conversation, Sarah shares her unconventional upbringing, setting out her family’s history and how they eventually settled on the Isle of Wight after a series of significant life events, including a violent incident in South Africa and the unfortunate collapse of her father’s bakery business in Essex.
Although there are now several branches of Grace’s Bakery on the Isle of Wight, it came from very humble beginnings — Sarah explained that literally every penny had gone into setting up their first shop in Ryde, that they had to borrow a cash float from friends for the first day of opening.
It is clear there is great resilience and entrepreneurial spirit in Sarah’s family, which has certainly helped shape her perspective on life and community.
Education and political awakening
Sarah’s university years were a time of political and philosophical exploration, leading to her involvement with the Liberal Democrats during a controversial period for the party.
Sarah’s academic pursuits in politics and philosophy at Bristol University equipped her with analytical tools and a passion for social justice, driving her towards political engagement despite the party’s challenges at the time.
Transition into local politics
The decision to enter local politics was somewhat spontaneous, encouraged by a conversation with Michael Lilley, the Isle of Wight councillor for Ryde Appley and Elmfield.
Despite her busy life helping to manage the chain of family bakeries, it was Sarah’s commitment to community involvement and her desire for more effective local governance that propelled her into the Isle of Wight council elections in 2023.
Role as a councillor and visions for the future
Throughout our conversation, Sarah emphasises the importance of evidence-based policy, community consultation, and cross-party collaboration.
She shares her view on the adversarial nature of party politics and clearly desires a more inclusive and constructive political discourse on the Island, underscoring her commitment to addressing local issues such as housing insecurity and public service provision.
Artistic endeavours
As well as being involved with the community and local politics, Sarah is a very talented artist and illustrator. You can follow her work on Facebook and Instagram.
Along with her twin sister Jodie, they have a podcast series called Art of the Side Gig, which you can watch/listen to via YouTube. There are three episodes to dive into and learn more about working full time whilst trying to turn creative hobbies into creative careers.
Listen to the podcast
It really was a fascinating conversation. You can listen to the podcast by clicking on the play button. You can pause the podcast, jump back 10 seconds, or forward 30 seconds by clicking on the relevant buttons, or just drag along the bar.
Sections
- 00 – Growing up
- 0:26:25 – Joining the LibDems at Uni – at an unpopular time – after they broke their promise to abolish tuition fees. Getting elected to the Student Union – the wide range of work it brought
- 01:08:31 – Deciding to become an Isle of Wight councillor – what it’s been like as a new councillor
- 01:31:15 – The process of trying to get elected
- 02:04:43 – What’s the day-to-day of being a county councillor like? How much time do you put into it?
