Julian Edmonds: 'We've been robbed and swindled by Labour'

What’s your connection to Slough, or why do you want to represent Slough? I moved the area in 1989, bought my first home in the centre of Slough in 1991.  Since then I have lived in Slough except for an 8 year break in Hungary where I met my wife.

What are the three biggest challenges facing Slough?  1) Being Robbed and Swindled by the Labour run council over many years   2) The desecration of th High Street  3) The difficulties faced by the majority of its people living in the government's Hostile Environment, especially the difficulty getting visas for family members to visit.

What issues are you campaigning on, and what causes will you be championing if elected? For a more flexible and innovative route to net zero which takes people with us.  Heat pumps aren't for everyone - that's why we have plans to produce gas from grass.  Electric cars won't work for everyone - that's why we have plans for biofuels and synthetic fuels produced from solar energy.  Also to restore frictionless trade and free movement with the EU.  Net migration went up because of Brexit.  Instead of people coming from nearby countries where they can still visit family back home, they come from half a world away where they are more likely to want to bring family members.  And British citizens have lost the right to study, work and retire abroad so there's no offsetting trend of people moving out of the country.

How will you help struggling high streets and town centres? Charge higher business rates for online delivery warehouses and data centres so that we can afford to reduce charges on local shops.  Convert unused retail and office buildings to flats and build homes on unused plots so there are enough people living within walking distance to support at least some retail, leisure and entertainment.  This will be good for younger people who have not yet met their life partner, to have an affordable home and an environment in which they can meet people.

How can you help make sure people can afford to live here while protecting our green spaces and countryside from development? Green spaces in urban areas, and any place of natural beauty or valuable wildlife habitat should absolutely not be built on. But that leaves lots of monocultural farm land, green when viewed from space, but marginal economically and sterile as far as wildlife is concerned. After using up all the unwanted commercial buildings and empty urban plots for starter homes, a small fraction of this should be used for building family sized houses with gardens for those who want to start families.

How will you help councils struggling with their finances? UK local governments only control 5% of public finances. In most European countries it is 30 to 40%. We would decentralise more powers and resources to local authorities, particularly the power to set business rates and keep the proceeds.

Can you help them to deal with the special educational needs crisis? Yes, I have personal experience.  I did time in a "mental school", for children with learning difficulties, then went on to study at Cambridge.  What I actually have is the same mutant gene as Greta Thunberg.  I would institute a triage system to identify those children who are actually disabled and need support, and those who are being victimised for being "different".

Will you want the government to continue the Household Support Grant? No. It shouldn't be needed.

What car do you drive (do you drive)? Kia Niro EV mark 2.  I chose this model because 1) it actually does over 90% of its advertised range  2) Made in a friendly country  3) It does not have a remote data link to be hacked.

What's your favourite film or TV show? The sci-fi series Andromeda.  I would re-write it for a near future Earth, with the European Union as the civilisation being rebuilt from scratch.

When was the last time you cried? When my father died last June.

Have you ever taken illegal drugs? Yes, on a visit to Amsterdam I had honest-to-God coffee.  And then coffee.