THE leader of Poole People has thrown his hat in the ring to fight the general election in May.

Mark Howell has been selected by the party he formed in 2010, to stand as a candidate for the Poole constituency.

The 46-year-old was elected to Borough of Poole at a by-election in 2010 to represent the town centre and his party holds four seats on the council.

He said: “I am delighted to have been selected to stand in the general election. I genuinely believe that I have a good chance of being elected.

“The public wants politicians to be more accountable, and to work for them, not for bankers or multinationals.

“Poole People signposts a new way of doing politics built upon localism and independent thinking.

“Together we can put Poole on the political map.”

Poole People aims to represent the interest of residents of the town, empower local communities and is committed to consensus decision making.

Cllr Howell believes more power needs to be transferred to local government and local government needs to be more accountable to residents.

If elected he has pledged to focus on raising the profile of Poole, attracting new business to the town, securing additional resources for local schools, securing a fairer government grant for the council and helping local independent parties in other areas prepare for the 2020 election.

Nationally he believes the government should take a more aggressive approach to reforming the banking system, should concentrate more on the welfare of staff in the NHS and there should be restrictions on immigration.

He thinks the EU is fundamentally flawed but the UK should stay in, there should be a tax on multinationals to compensate for environmental damage, more power should be given to local authorities and a revolution in education is needed.

He said a sea change was necessary in national politics and smaller parties and independents are likely to have more influence in a close election.

“Poole People has the potential to signal a new way forward,” he said.