Martin Broomfield is the SDP prospective candidate for South Cotswolds. We spoke with Martin about his decision to stand.
“I feel very comfortable with the SDP’s strapline:- Family, Community, Nation. Now semi-retired I have some time to spend on helping the SDP to spread the word”
Can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?
I grew up in Reading, it was a multicultural town even in the 1970s but unlike today, we all understood and respected our cultural differences and we lived happily side by side, it was a real live and let live environment which I really enjoyed.
I went to a secondary modern school. When I was 16 I started an apprenticeship as a toolmaker and studied for HNC in mech. eng. at Reading Tech. I worked in various engineering jobs, became a service engineer and eventually got into industrial robotics and CAD design, working in car factories including Ford, Rover, BMW, Volvo and Honda in various European locations.
I have lived in Wiltshire for the last 40 years, I now live to the north of Chippenham with my wife Daisy and two teenage sons. I also have two grown up daughters living in Australia and Thailand.
I feel very comfortable with the SDP’s strapline:- Family, Community, Nation. Now semi-retired I have some time to spend on helping the SDP to spread the word.
“the EU was a massively complex, cumbersome organisation that was trying to amalgamate the opinions of 27 different nations, headed up by a top table of unelected bureaucrats”
What made you decide to stand for the SDP?
For most of my voting life all of my political knowledge came from the TV and I voted depending on who appealed most from the little that I knew. Then in 2016 the EU referendum was looming, I realised that this was going to be a really important political event. I also realised that I knew nothing about politics or the European Union, so I set about learning everything I could, about how our political institutions functioned and how the EU was a massively complex, cumbersome organisation that was trying to amalgamate the opinions of 27 different nations, headed up by a top table of unelected bureaucrats. I could see the intention was to make “one size that fits all” decisions and laws, but in reality it seemed the best they ever achieved was “one size that fits nobody”.
My attempts to discuss European pros and cons revealed it was a very emotive subject, but worst of all I constantly heard the BBC telling us we were racist idiots for even wanting to talk about it. Then move on a few years and I found that questioning the main stream Covid narrative brought on a very similar reaction. Then came the race and culture wars and lo and behold, it was very difficult to talk about any of that without being called all sorts of names.
“It became apparent that there was a culture of suppressing free speech to allow the propagation of niche ideas that were not good for the majority of the British people”
It became apparent that there was a culture of suppressing free speech to allow the propagation of niche ideas that were not good for the majority of the British people, which frankly horrified me. Being able to discuss every subject openly and freely without emotional bullying or guilt trips is the bedrock of a healthy democracy.
I found that the government in power was actually fuelling this suppression, because it seemed that their policies and actions were at odds with each other and their actions did not stand up to any sort of common sense scrutiny. But they were dead set on the idea that “globalism is the new god” and they were going to expedite pulling down Britain’s borders and forcing this thing on the British people whether they liked it or not.
Net Zero, another globalist idea based on very dodgy data. The government’s solution was to enforce the use of electric only power while simultaneously dismantling our electricity generating capability. Thankfully I realised that the SDP, who’s name I knew of old, actually had policies that I agreed with. At last I had found my political home.
“if there was a box that said “None of the above”, that’s where I would put my cross. Obviously this is not good enough, so I am standing to give voters the opportunity to put a cross by the “SDP”
You’re the Spokesman for South Cotswolds what’s made you decide to represent this area?
I live in the Kington ward of the South Cotswolds County Constituency. As may be apparent from my previous answers, I am not a career politician and I am not from any area of influence. Every time I go to vote, I find the same problem, if there was a box that said “None of the above”, that’s where I would put my cross. Obviously this is not good enough, so I am standing to give voters the opportunity to put a cross by the “SDP”.
What do you see as the big concerns for the constituency and what issues do you hope to champion?
One of our main challenges is to somehow force our institutions, councils, NHS, welfare etc. to stick to their core responsibilities and not waste enormous amounts of our money on stuff that most people consider to be irrelevant nonsense.
For those eager to help, how can they get involved in the campaign?
At the moment the SDP name and policies need to be spread to as many people as possible. I think if we can get people familiar with the party’s policies then we will naturally get politically homeless people on board. So spreading website links and getting people aware of us will be key to starting the ball rolling.
You can find out more on our website at https://sdp.org.uk/.
You can also find me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and email me at [email protected].
