Michael Turberville, Independent candidate for Reading Central

He is 57 years old, and has recently worked as a business systems officer, and a global director in IT.

Claim to the area:

I relocated to Reading from Kent over 15 years ago. I have been an active participant in the democratic process by standing in elections: Local, MP, MEP to give people another option other than the dinosaur parties.

What are the three biggest challenges facing the people of Reading Central?

I moved here because it was the ideal, ticked all my boxes, on a home counties place to live that was within 35 minutes door to desk of my work. The travel time has increased because everyone was complaining about the trains NOT being on time and meeting the timetables.

New trains have fast acceleration so they should easily be able to make the journey in under 10 minutes.

In my years of residing in Reading, I have seen many things come and far more Go. We are ideally located in the perfect potential travel time suburban commuter belt town location.

Our town should be thriving. It is suffering from 14+ years of Faux Austerity of the Tories! Spending less and less, so the cash starved public services would be plummy for privatisation... Has been proven to be a failure in the 1980s/90s and again the 2010-2024.

We should be logical in this, one of the biggest challenges of residing in Reading. It takes longer to travel from Reading Station to Employers (out of centre business parks) than the travel time (when heavily padded) Paddington to Reading. Traffic pinch points that need the National government to sign off to Just Do It - get it done.

What causes will you be championing if elected as an MP?

As a Scientist (published), I see the world and the lack of logic and reason.
Logical Government. If it is not logical, it is not an act of Parliament.

European Union Re-Union for the separate states of the UK returning to the fold. The UK is dead in all but name only.

Infrastructure Investment. No two urban conurbations in UK/Eire/NW France should be more than two hours distance by train.

New Hospitals - The new Royal Berks to be constructed in the town centre - not out of town that requires a bus/car to reach. It should be within a few minutes of Reading Station so during breaks and lunch of staff and visitors, can pop out to get abc, xyz from the town centre. This would greatly increase the footfall in town centre.

Education/Schools: New to replace all the dilapidated schools. Far too many are in a horrid state. The number one reason I hear people who send their children to public schools ... the facilities. Schools should be about education.

A school does not churn out identical levels of education for every student. Our schools have deteriorated (deliberately) to a state of - no one wants to send their children to the nearest to where they live so they can walk to school and home from school.

They would also get an education at their nearest school and we would be able to end the Post Code - School Name Envy.

Just because a person attends Eton does not make the person intellectual. Bozo the village idiot and co are living proof of that fallacy.

NHS, Schools, Rail, Road, Ports, Utilities, etc... Our infrastructure is dilapidated due to 14+ years of Faux Austerity when countries like China have invested in their infrastructure. China, in half the time projected for it, Eight Years, they eliminated absolute and abject Poverty. 800 million lifted out of any form of poverty. Why are we doing the exact opposite?

What car do you drive?

An old Mercedes, rapidly approaching Vintage/Antique (the term for Classic) old cars. She is German and red so I call her Greta as in Greta Garbo - she had red hair and is a classic era actress, performance personality.

What's your favourite film or TV show?

I have several favourite films. In no particular order: Barbarella with Jane Fonda, Logan's Run with Michael York and Jenny Agutter, and Planet of the Apes with Roddy McDowell.

New films are very formulaic. They are so formulaic; they are called things like the Marvel franchise.

Yes, I have watched all of the Marvel and the DC films. I can have a good discord about the new Dune (it will be a trilogy of course). It falls into the Hollywood formulaic as it will end with the three when he wrote six books. Hollywood always ends after the first two.

Telly... Nothing is better than good old Doctor Who and Eurovision.
I am officially a Geek and Nerd when it comes to Sci-fi and dystopian genre. The watching, reading, of other people's vision of what could be... and nit-picking all scene by scene.

When was the last time you cried?

The last time I cried, proper cried, was during covid. I come from a very Large family. In my family, their spouses, etc, I had over 50 members of my family or their spouses dead during Covid. Covid killed my eldest brother, his wife a few days apart, and several of his (adult) children. Covid killed my uncle and his wife a day apart. So many have died, it is only surpassed by all those in my family, friends, colleagues, associates, teachers, neighbours, etc who died of hiv/aids in the 1980s and 90s.

Fifty of family from Covid and many 100s from hiv/aids when I was younger. Both because of governments who did the wrong things. The not logical things. I blame Bozo and co for every death in my family 2020 to 2023.

Yes, I have had covid four times and vaccinated eight times (so far) and still wear a mask everywhere.

What's your stance on drug legalisation, and have you ever taken any drugs in your past?

My position on Recreational Products is... Portugal has shown the world the way. If it works, ergo it is logical to do it.
We were all young at one time. So yes, I have consumed Recreational Products in my younger era. When a person has partaken and is an observant person, we who have partaken can instantly identify when another person has and what they have taken.
We would not have the Beatles being so successful without their Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

People should not have to go to back-alley places to obtain their Recreational Products... Anyone should be able to go to Boots etc and buy over the counter. Then everyone would know they are actually buying what, quality, dosage, etc. A person owns their own body and have their own right to chose what they are putting in it. Alcohol to Recreational Products. Making ABC, XYZ illegal does not dent the usage by people, it just gives a market for the drug lords and gangs, etc. We make legislation same as we do for alcohol. You can not drive or work when under the influence. Logical, Simple, Logical.

There are Independent candidates in almost all constituencies, so everyone who reads my words and can relate to LOGIC and reason for a Government that exists to serve the people. Your choice can make the Tory party extinct as a dodo or the dinosaurs.