The UK may be leaving the EU but one of the South East Region’s MEP’s was out campaigning last Friday for his party in the upcoming local and general elections.

Keith Taylor, South East Region MEP was meeting and greeting afternoon shoppers with a stall next to Winchester's Buttercross.

Keith told the Hampshire Chronicle: “I came in support of the local Greens of Winchester and to help our candidate for the county council elections on May 4, Andrew Wainwright. I think he will be the first Green Councillor ever elected on Hampshire County Council.”

A Winchester Green Party member Evelyn Parker said: “We are going to have a Winchester candidate for the General Election too. There are at least two members that wish to stand so we are going to have hustings to decide who it will be.”

Keith was asked how strong support was in the area and he said: “I think it can be best described as growing. There has been some important work done by the Winchester party on air pollution. A couple of years ago the local party together with the Winchester Friends of the Earth wrote to the European Commission on the topic of Winchesters air pollution saying that the council had failed on its duty to find ways to provide cleaner air for the city.”

He added: “In Winchester our main aim is to get a County Council seat.”

About the prospects in the General Election he said: “I think we will increase the vote in the south. There has been a domination by the Tories here since God was a boy. I think people see that Greens bring a fresh pair of eyes to the issues. In Winchester there are enormous traffic problems and a lack of political will to solve them. “

Asked what the main issues they were campaigning on Keith said: “Traffic and air pollution and improving prospects for the next generation. Our co-leader Caroline Lucas has called on 16 and 17 year-olds to be allowed to vote in this election. Young people have a huge stake in us all having a sustainable future.”