SOUTH Somerset's election candidates want your vote.

Here we meet Diane Wood, prospective parliamentary candidate for the Green party.

She said:

I am a Yeovil Mum, I work in a local school and I’m genuinely concerned about the world we are raising our children in.

Like many people, I lost faith in our politicians as successive governments have hit us with austerity and cuts.

Whilst the wealthy got richer at the expense of our beautiful country, many people are poorer and more disadvantaged than ever before.

Our green Somerset countryside is having huge, mainly luxury, housing estates plonked on it, making money for big developers, creating urban sprawl and damaging our local communities.

Our kids are facing a mental health crisis as they are rigorously tested from age 4, just for the purposes of league tables, statistics and government targets, with SEN children frequently not receiving the support they need.

In turn, our teachers are leaving the profession in droves because they want to be teachers not administrators.

The Brexit saga that has dominated politics and this country for so long has been divisive, destructive and already cost us taxpayers dearly.

It has diverted attention away from the impending climate crisis, away from taking the decisive actions needed right now.

No matter which way you voted, everyone is fed up with Brexit looming over the Governance of this country, holding us back.

Our children are marching around the world, demanding that the adults start listening and take action to protect their future.

Our government simply isn’t taking climate change seriously: it wants to spend more money on road building and still supports fossil fuel industries.

Other parties talk about the climate but I’m not convinced.

I wanted to give people the opportunity to vote for a local woman who is down-to-earth, not obsessed with Brexit, and stands for what she believes in – a positive, sustainable future for our kids and young people.

I am proud to be able to offer the people of Yeovil Constituency an opportunity to vote Green on December 12.

We need choices, not just the same old parties, the same old cliches and the same promises that come to nothing after the election.