THE Green Party has announced its election candidate for the Romsey and Southampton North constituency 

Connor Shaw will be in the running at the next General Election. 

He previously stood in Test Valley Borough Council and Hampshire County Council elections, and has spoken out about protecting chalk streams to a crowd at a protest outside DEFRA.

A lifelong resident of the Wallops, Mr Shaw is an activist for the environment and social issues.

He said: “Growing up in this area I have seen what 14 years of Tory cuts have done to our community. Rural bus services are now basically non-existent, and that is just scratching the surface.

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“I am standing for the Green Party as I believe that the only way forward is a green way forward. The UK was thriving, but we have become the sick man of Europe once more. As a young person I know for a fact that our schools are not ’some of the best in the country’: underfunding, pay disputes and cut back services have ruined our community. The Greens want to right these Tory wrongs."

Mr Shaw added: “Our local community doesn’t just love our chalk streams; they are a part of our identity. My primary school shirt had an emblem of the Wallop Brook; my secondary school logo was a trout. Both of these show how entwined our culture is with these precious ecosystems. But it’s not just the rivers that have felt the pressure of Tory cuts: long NHS waiting lists, virtually no NHS dentists for new patients, high bills, low wages, kids going hungry at schools that are literally falling apart. This is not the future I want - is it really the one you want for your children?

“The Green Party is the only party in the UK that sees the potential our great country has. Green policies would see clearer rivers, cleaner air, cheaper bills, and hope. Hope not just for a few millionaires, but for a better, greener, fairer future for all.

“We are in a national shortage of hope. We need hopeful progressive politicians more than ever. The Tories don’t offer hope, Labour don’t offer hope; the Green Party does. I hope to be that progressive, forward-thinking, hopeful politician that we so desperately need. I love my country and I want to be a voice for my community.”