Green Party candidate Rhys Baker is vying to become South Holland and the Deepings MP

A Green Party contender is confident he can prove the doubters wrong again — and announced that he will try to win one of the safest Tory seats in the country.

Teacher Rhys Baker was inspired to get involved in politics more than 18 months ago due to the effects of climate change but he is keen to show that the Green Party has a lot to offer with policies on homes, energy and food security.

The married father of two was told he didn’t stand a chance during last May’s local elections as Tory votes around here are ‘weighed’ not counted but he proved the doubters wrong and is now a South Kesteven District Council cabinet member.

And Rhys is hoping to replicate that success when he challenges current incumbent, Sir John Hayes, to become the next South Holland and the Deepings MP in the election, believed to take place in November. Jack Braginton has been announced as the Liberal Democrat candidate.

He is now appealing to people to ensure that they do turn-out to vote – which is an important message bearing in mind that just 628 out of 3,582 St Paul’s ward residents turned out to vote in last November’s election for a district council seat.

Rhys, of Bourne, said: “I would appeal to people to vote and whilst I would love and respect any votes that people would place against my name – and that would be an honour – more important than me is the need to vote.

“Get your voice heard by registering your votes in the district council, county council, police and crime commissioner and parish elections.

“Get voting as people have died for this right – and are dying for this right.”

Keen swimmer Rhys was inspired to get involved in politics after a trip to London was cancelled a few years ago due to the heat melting the train tracks.

He said that he expects to do a lot of ‘myth busting’ about the Green Party but says that is is coming through in a ‘mature way’ to voters with its wide range of policies.

Rhys said: “People should be able to buy a house, feel safe, have it warm and cheap to run. People should be able to move into a community and not have an expensive car that they need to rely on because of public transport.

“If people want to keep their cars, keep it as the carbon impact of the car is done. Scrapping perfectly functional cars is bad for the environment.

“We need a joined up farming and growing policy for our growers as a whole. It is not affordable for supermarkets to dictate prices to our growers and farmers.

“We need funding for councils that doesn’t force them to shut facilities or sell off green spaces.

“I want a sensible energy policy that doesn’t result in pylons criss-crossing the area. I want people to tell me what they want. I have gleaned a lot. I want more people to give me what they want represented in Westminster rather than me telling them what they want.

“People have the idea that being green has to be expensive and is going to cost jobs and make life harder. A lot of green policies put more money into people’s pockets and put money into councils to spend on libraries or roads and make quality of life better.”

Rhys said that he respected Sir John and said that no-one could doubt that he cared for the area but questioned if the MP’s voting record put residents first.

He also wants to tackle the ‘sheer callousness’ that central Government treated the area. He has highlighted issues with the closure of the Deepings Leisure Centre and the eyesores such as the former bingo hall in Spalding.

Rhys, who had lived in Crowland before moving to Bourne, said: “I was gobsmacked to know that there was no financial support for our farmers and growers until April when some of their fields had been underwater for months.

“I want to stand as someone who is interested in South Holland and the Deepings and won’t vote for a party whip that will put the residents of this area a distant second behind the latest Westminster bubble.”

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