GREEN Party candidate Sabrina Poole, who claims to represent ‘something different and what the future can and should be’, is urging people in the Cotswolds to vote how they want and not just ‘tactically’.

Ms Poole, a former student at Cirencester Deer Park School and Cirencester College, is fighting for a different kind of politics in the area and nationally, and said that it was time the Cotswolds needed an MP who is “in touch with reality” and approachable.

She said: “There is a perception that politics does not affect people’s lives and it is just old men making decisions. We need to change that mentally in the UK.”

The 26-year-old said she did not know how Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who is hoping to be re-elected as Cotswold MP, can “get down to the level of other people”.

She continued: “I have lived experience of still living at home and being in a lot of university debt, having had to work zero-hour contracts.

“I represent something that is different and I represent what the future can and should be.”

She added that of all candidates, apart from Mr Clifton-Brown, she has lived in the area the longest.

Ms Poole, who grew up in Chesterton, said the biggest local issue is the Chesterton development for 2,350 homes: “I would encourage councils to listen to local people. Whatever happens from now onwards needs to involve local people.”

She believed ward councillors, who are traditionally excluded from voting in planning applications at Cotswold District Council, should be able able to vote on the mega Chesterton development.

As a passionate advocate of proportional representation (PR), Ms Poole will also be fighting for a different kind of politics nation-wide.

She said the PR system would mean every vote counts and candidates would have to fight for every resident’s vote, unlike the current first-past-the-post system, which ‘traps’ people into voting ‘tactically’.

Nevertheless, she urged people to vote for the party they supported most: “If you want the society we are advocating for every time you vote for us, our voice grow louder. It will also influence policies of main parties.

“If all people voted how they wanted to, we would have a different political make up.”

If elected as Cotswold MP, Ms Poole promises to work to protect public services (including Minor Injuries units, GP surgeries, and social care), to ensure all schools are properly funded following the introduction of the proposed new funding formula.

Other aims include making public transport accessible and making the Cotswolds accessible to young people.