Kate Karpenko fled the war in Ukraine and came to live in Ardee two years ago and is now running as a Labour local election candidate in Mid Louth. She says that putting communities at the heart of local government is the way forward in creating communities that work for all.

She has been putting those words into action by rolling her sleeves up and getting involved in community clean-ups and Tidy Towns initiatives across Mid-Louth, from Dunleer to Collon, to Tallanstown and her adopted home town of Ardee.

Kate explained: “When I came here from Ukraine, two years ago, the community in Ardee embraced me and I was able to make a new home here and build a new life.

“Since the first day I arrived, I’ve wanted to pay that generosity back and make a real difference in my community.

“Every day I meet people who are working hard to make their community a better place to live in. They work voluntarily and with go unnoticed by many. They do what they do for the love of their community and to express the pride they feel in their home.

“I’ve been doing what I can to help and my friends from Ukraine have getting involved now. We now have several of my fellow refugees signed up as volunteers for Ardee Tidy Towns who are getting their hands dirty to make their community clean.”

Kate said Labour’s local election manifesto lays out the party’s vision to put communities back at the heart of local government and community is at the centre of her own campaign.

“I have been rolling my sleeves up and getting involved in community clean-ups, listening to the community’s concerns on the doorsteps of Mid-Louth and what I’ve found is that community spirit is alive and well out there.

“Councils and councillors that put community at the heart of everything they do can harness all that latent energy out there, for meaningful change. That’s what I hope to do in Ardee and what Labour hopes to do across the country.”