Dear St Laurence Resident,

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My name is Karl Lansley. I am 54 years old, widowed since 2017 and father to three children. I moved to Southend when I was about 5 years old and, with the exception of 4 years in Shoebury, have lived exclusively in the St Laurence Ward.

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In 2017, my wife of almost 13 years – Carli – passed away from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS). Carli was just 36 years of age at the time. In 2018, the family created a registered charity – Carli Lansley Foundation – in her memory. Our core aim has been to provide free ECG checks to young people (aged 14-35) to help detect undiagnosed heart conditions. As of January 2026, our charity has raised over £250,000, checked the hearts of almost 3,500 young people and found 150 that needed a further medical referral.

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In October 2024, I co-founded a walking group with my friend (and fellow Confelicity member, Lee Clark). We named the group SMILE – standing for Support, Motivation, Inspiration, Love and Empathy. Initially started to just hold walks for people who may be struggling mentally – as both Lee and I have over the years – the group has grown beyond anything we could have possibly envisioned. We are now looking at 2 walks a month, regular group meals at local restaurants plus lots of other social events. We know the group has had a massively positive effect on so many people.

Between my children, our charity and the SMILE group, I have found the focuses I need to keep going after what will forever be the senseless tragedy of Carli's passing.

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My previous 'political career'

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In 2018, I was approached by a friend who'd wondered if I'd ever considered running for local council. My honest answer was 'no, I hadn't' but when I initially thought about the prospect, it was less than a year after Carli had passed and I was looking to pursue all the positive opportunities that would come my way. I had this idyllic vision that I would be able to help everyone and anyone, and solve every problem that arose. Writing this now, I can see how simplistic it all sounds but I genuinely thought getting involved with the local community would be just an extension of the charity work I was doing for local people.

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It is safe to say it didn't take me too long to realise that, at that point in my life, I had taken on something that may not have been what I was expecting. In hindsight, I can now see I was nowhere near the right mindset to be taking on such a challenge. My name remained on the ballot paper and it was an honour to represent that party and also slightly surreal to see 'Vote Lansley' on boards and in windows as I drove around the ward. In the end, I received 296 votes – which I still think is a fairly respectable number!

 

Why now?

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In recent years, mainly due to my friendship with Lee Clark, I came to know more about the Confelicity party, who they were and what they were hoping to achieve. I've read their manifesto in full and so much of it resonates heavily with me. I'll confess, I (like many, I expect) had to look up 'Confelicity' in the dictionary. It means 'Pleasure in another person's happiness', which I hope is one of the biggest qualities I've always lived my life by. 

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Unlike local candidates from a national party, who would be expected to not only follow all the national policies but also be ready to defend them to local residents, the Confelicity party are primarily focused on local issues and we are free to vote and voice as we wish. 

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How can the party make the lives of the people in Southend easier, safer and nicer? How can the party help make the areas in Southend more welcoming, more productive and more vibrant? How can the party affect decisions that directly impact the residents of Southend? How can the party help to support, and promote, local businesses?

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And it was this focus on local issues that really drew me in. 

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There needs to be a pragmatic and realistic expectation of what a council, or councillor, can achieve. Decisions taken by government will make a lot of things difficult, or in some cases impossible, to change. But there are still so many things that can be made better for the majority when local residents make their voices heard.

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I'm not naïve enough to think I'm just going to head straight into a contest for a place on the council. I will be slowly, but deliberately, “dipping my toe” into issues that affect the residents of St Laurence. Even by just highlighting issues, and not even needing to be a councillor, people CAN make changes to the area they live in.

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In comparison to my brief candidacy in 2019, I am now at a point in my life where I feel more confident to put my name forward, find out people's concerns and see if/how we can try to change things for the better.

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The journey starts now...

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Karl Lansley

St Laurence Confelicity

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