I am Alan Stone, I am a 59 year old, self- employed antiques dealer.

Full statement

I run Squirrels Antiques in Basingstoke and have lived and worked locally for 55 years.

I believe in fairness in life and do not think that either the Conservatives or Labour offer real fairness. One wants to restrict services on the poor, the other wants to tax wealth to the point of it leaving our country.

Our entrepreneurs create wealth and employment. We need to create a positive place to nurture entrepreneurs, who in turn create stable long-term employment which fuels decent neighbourhoods. Tax revenue from higher productivity will fund better state support.

The NHS is the envy of the World, but it is in a continuing crisis. A crisis born of its own success. The excellent clinical staff are swamped by, in some cases , unnecessary use. We should teach first aid to all school children and continue training into adulthood.

Unhealthy living is costing the NHS billions of pounds. This crisis must be turned around by healthy living classes being prescribed. Some responsibilities lie with the individual not the state.

Training UK-based doctors and nurses is and must be a priority, along with a promise of five years NHS service; their training should be free. We must end our reliance on imported hospital staff.

There is a definite link between drugs and homelessness. I am already fighting to get decriminalisation and safe places for drug users to get drugs and assistance.Taking the criminal elements out of drug use and supply will take billions of pounds out of gangsters’ hands. Without the crime, the social elements can be resolved.

Housing is the crisis we are told, but there are simple solutions. There are hundreds of homes available to buy or let in Basingstoke. The problem is affordability. We should encourage our children to save for deposits from an early age. More house-sharing schemes for the young and old alike, would also share the burden, reducing loneliness and the burden on the state.

Global climate change is happening. Our Government must make laws that suit our environment not the businesses that donate to political parties. It was my investigation that stopped Hampshire recycling being shipped 1000’s of miles to China. It is now recycled locally.

Wind farm and solar electricity is much more efficient, but green energy is still only part of it. We need to develop an environmental attitude to where we buy our goods and services.

I am a scuba diver, as such I see the environmental damage that is happening across the planet’s oceans. It is disgusting the amount of pollutants and plastics that are pumped into our seas.

We, as a nation, must stop buying products from countries that cause the majority of this mess. One example is the Indian, Chinese and Asian clothing market. That business is the second largest polluters after the oil industry. Huge amounts of untreated contaminants are pumped into the environment unchecked. That industry will only clean itself up when consumers force it to. The only way business listens is when it affects their bottom line. We, the consumer, have the power and responsibility to change things. We must look at where our purchases come from and how they are produced. Manufacturers in the UK are already using more and more biodegradable packaging and green production methods. The carbon footprint of transportation is the lowest it could possibly be. British products might be a little more expensive, but long term, it is worth it for a clean planet.

Hampshire Independent councillors will fight for locally produced products and services to be used by local councils. Where possible insisting on Hampshire made products and Hampshire based services. This is good for the local economy, good for the environment and good for local moral.

We insist that the tax payer’s money, raised by councils, is used to support local industry, enriching local communities with safe and secure employment, producing a pride and community spirit – all but lost under the present bi-party political system.