Bramley Alliance for Democracy and Freedom candidate - Sarah Packman
Sarah Packman, the Alliance for Democracy and Freedom (ADF) candidate in the Bramley ward, said she was compelled to get involved in local politics in order to “save our democracy”.
Ms Packman, a 57-year-old business owner, said she wasn’t a politician and had never liked politics, but wanted to stand now as she felt democracy in the UK had been “absolutely undermined”.
She said: “The level of corruption in our Government would make an African politician blush.
“Over decades, we’ve got to a situation where our politicians are corrupt, self-serving and not serving the interests of the UK.
“If we want to save our democracy, we all have to get involved whether we want to or not.
“I saw the level of corruption – what goes on in national Government happens in local government, it’s just the scale that’s different.
“This behaviour has been allowed to happen.
“The public has allowed it, the mainstream media – who are one of the pillars of democracy and are supposed to hold our politicians to account – haven’t been doing their job because they’re being paid by the same people who are paying the politicians.
“We’re stuck in this revolving door of interests and the public are being disadvantaged horribly.”
Ms Packman said she had joined the ADF because “they have quite similar values”.
The ADF party describes itself as a “centre party with common sense policies”, vehemently opposing Covid lockdowns and vaccine passports, replacing school tests at early year key stages with teacher assessments, and for the state pension age to be 60 for both men and women.
Locally, Ms Packman said the biggest threat to her community was the “continuing over development affecting Bramley, Sherfield-on-Loddon, Stratfield Turgis and Church End”.
She said national Conservative policies had led to the permanent loss of productive agricultural land, and she called for “truly sustainable and effective energy solutions; not just ‘tick box’ solar farms whose commercial viability is dependent on subsidies alone”.
Click here for Conservative candidate - Simon Mahaffey
Click here for Basingstoke and Deane Independents candidate - Tony Durrant
The election will take place on Thursday.
