I am pleased to have been selected to contest the general election for the Green Party in a constituency where I've lived for most of my working life.

Full statement

I originally involved myself in local politics as a way to lessen my own fears about what the future looked like. There's an almost endless list of reasons for young people to have little faith that the future will get better, climate change being chief among them. My hope is that people locally will see my candidacy as a small step towards building a world that works for everyone, not just the fortunate few at the top. I am a big believer in devolution, local people making decisions about local issues, which is why I'm focusing my campaign on the fact that I'm the only left-of-centre candidate with real ties to Basingstoke. I have lived here 7 years and have been involved in many community groups and activities for the entire time living here. Unfortunately for the people of Basingstoke, our options for the next election are limited to the incumbent, a Lib Dem from Oxford or a Labour candidate from London. I am the local choice." Outside of politics, Michael has been a magistrate since 2020, one of only a very few across the country under the age of 30. Michael has also held several volunteering roles, having been a local RSPCA trustee for 4 years and a school governor for a year. His wife recently restarted the Chineham conservation group and now works with Natural Basingstoke to co-ordinate nature conservation efforts across the borough. He is also currently pursuing a master's degree in environmental science with the Open University. Michael said: "I believe that every person elected to office needs at least a basic understanding of climate science, but I'd like to go a step further and make sure that I can robustly defend against any climate sceptics that I might come across in the political world." "I'm not uniquely or overly qualified to be a politician, having never formally studied politics or economics, but I do believe there is one area in which I excel; relentlessly pursuing greener policies and securing a future for myself and other young people across the country and across the world. The last thing we need is more politicians with degrees in politics -- if we've learnt anything as a country it's that people who groom themselves to become MPs are the last people who should be doing it! I graduated from an apprenticeship, I've worked for the same company for 10 years, I've served my community and I'm ready to keep serving it with the same level of loyalty and relentlessness that has lead me to achieve all I have in my life."