SEVERAL dozen people came together at Lydiard Park this morning to welcome the launch of the Independent Alliance – a group of would-be councillors united by a distrust of the response to the coronavirus.

Former UKIP candidate Martin Costello, who is one of those behind the new grouping, said people had been meeting at Lydiard every weekend for around the past six weeks – with “over 100” in attendance a fortnight ago. 

READ MORE: Police issue statement as candidates gather at Lydiard Park

Swindon Advertiser:

Martin Costello, a member of the 'Independent Alliance' of councillor candidates 

Mr Costello, who is standing as an independent candidate in Liden, Eldene and Park South and is a spokesman for the group, said the new grouping of 20 independent candidates were trying to “completely reset politics”. They will be standing in the elections held on May 6. 

“We are an alliance of independent candidates and we’ve all come together for one belief, basically,” he said. “We’re very concerned about what’s happening currently.

“We want to turn this into a referendum to democratically give people the chance to express their anger at this [the coronavirus restrictions]. There’s no other way of doing it. This has been imposed upon us against our will, the government haven’t asked us if we want this and there’s no opposition party speaking about it. 

“We’ve got a wide range of people, very diverse set of people who are very concerned about this. People get closed down on different platforms and things when they try to talk about their concerns.” 

READ MORE: A full list of candidates standing for election in Swindon on May 6

He raised concerns about vaccine passports, with the government currently testing how certificates showing whether you have been vaccinated or have recently tested negative could be used to get crowds back into theatres, sports events and nightclubs. 

“We do not agree with mandatory vaccines that people may need for jobs, because these vaccines are still in clinical trials and will be for another two years and we don’t know what the effects are of this,” he said. 

He claimed that the vaccine could make people infertile – a popular internet claim for which the Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists and the British Fertility Society has said there is “absolutely no evidence”. Mr Costello said: “We don’t believe health people should take this vaccination that’s still in clinical trials.”

Swindon Advertiser:

Independent Alliance candidates and their supporters at Lydiard Park on Sunday morning 

Beverly Elmer is standing as an independent candidate in the St Andrews ward. She said: “I’m standing because for myself personally there’s not a box on the ballot paper that I feel I personally tick. 

“We are politically homeless. There’s nobody out there that is representing the people at grassroots. 

“There is an agenda and most of the agendas out there are self-serving politically and they’re not about the people for the people and for the children in our community, the people with mental health issues, the old, the vulnerable, the homeless. There’s so many issues that are not being addressed and it’s all self-serving and it’s all about personal gain.” 

Elections will be held on May 6. You can find a full list of candidates here.