THE Communist Party has urged voters in Wellington to back them in the general election after launching a bid to represent the area in Parliament for the first time in the party’s history.

Wellington woman Rochelle Russell, 65, who is standing for the Communist Party of Britain, has urged residents to “vote for real change” on July 4 and endorse her party’s manifesto pledges to renationalise utilities and scrap the UK’s nuclear deterrent.

Ms Russell is one of 14 Communist Party of Britain candidates standing across England, Scotland and Wales. Speaking to the Wellington Weekly, Ms Russell said she was a ‘lifelong socialist’: “I have been a socialist and a Marxist my entire adult life. It is as much a part of me as anything else.

“I came to socialism through my family background, I come from a mining community near Sunderland. I became politically active as a student in London and it has stayed with me all my life. To me, socialism, communism, seems like the natural order of things.”

Ms Russel said the big parties could only inspire apathy among voters, and called on non-voters to have their say at the ballot box. She said: “The major parties have created a sense of apathy. My major reason for standing is to bring a message of hope, particularly to the young.

“There are a lot of challenges and you look at the major political parties and you don’t see young people’s interests represented.”

Asked if she felt there was an appetite for radical change in Taunton and Wellington, Ms Russell said: “Probably more in Taunton than Wellington - but if you don’t present the option you will never know. You can’t make the judgment unless you test it at an election.”

A key totem of the party’s campaign is its stance on Palestine. Ms Russell compared the ongoing conflict to the struggle against apartheid South Africa. She said: “I’m old enough to have been involved in the anti-apartheid campaign. I remember how Nelson Mandela was considered a terrorist.

“Eventually that changed. Nelson Mandela became a hero, because the public realised the situation in South Africa was morally wrong. If you look at Palestine, my belief is the tide of public opinion is starting to turn. There is no moral justification for flattening a country.”

Out supporting Ms Russell’s canvassing on Thursday was Liz Payne, secretary of the party for the South West. She said the campaign was an opportunity to spread the Communist message.

She said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to tell people what we stand for. We want to see the Tories out, workers rights boosted, trade unions strengthened and public utilities nationalised and democratically run.

“We want to see a foreign policy which is peaceful, and an end to the nuclear project. We want to see that money spent on the NHS and local services.”

Ms Russell added: “I was brought up to believe people fought and died for the right to vote. In this election, vote for real change.”