With campaigning for the General Election under way in the Devizes constituency we meet the Green Party's candidate

Emma Dawnay, says she is not an extreme Green but that the party has the only economic policy that makes sense.

The 50-year-old mother-of-one stepped forward in January to be the party’s new candidate after the departure of Mark Fletcher, the previous candidate who pulled out due to work commitments.

This is the first time the scientist and freelance political economist, who lives in Wexcombe, near Marlborough, has run in a General Election after joining the Green Party last autumn.

She said: “Lots of people have the impression that we spend our time protesting in trees but that is not the case.

“I’ve never thought of myself as political, but I feel so passionately that we’re moving in the wrong direction that I’ve decided it’s time I stand up for what I believe in, and try to make a difference.

“I feel very strongly about Green Party policies and living in a way where ‘green’ is the obvious choice.

“What I love about Wiltshire is that it has been my home since I was five. I love the big green spaces and the chance to go on long walks across the Downs.”

Mrs Dawnay has said key issues affecting Wiltshire that she would like to improve if elected are public transport links, improved conditions for those in deprived areas and the infrastructure in Tidworth.

“The constituency is a fairly affluent place but there are pockets of very deprived areas where families rely on food banks to feed their families and live in fuel poverty. This is something that needs to change.

“Transport is also a big thing in this area. We need to sort out the system so that services are linked, with buses serving local villages are waiting to meet every train.

“There also needs to be investment in Tidworth due to the army expansion plans. There will be thousands more people and we need the infrastructure to support them.”

Mrs Dawnay grew up in the county. She went to St Mary’s School, Calne, before heading to Cambridge University where she obtained a PhD in material science.

She met her husband, 51-year-old Johnny Hugi, in 2000. The couple married in 2006 and have an eight-year-old daughter, Georgina.

After working for Bookham Technology she went on to do an MBA at London Business School, before writing an influential report on behavioural economics for the New Economics Foundation in 2005.

For the past two years she has been based in her husband’s home country of Switzerland but she moved back to the county at the start of the year to be closer to her family.

You can follow Mrs Dawnay on Twitter @Emma4Devizes or email her at greendevizes@gmail.com

Age: 50

Job: Currently a stay at home mum but also a scientist and freelance political economist.

Marital status: Married Johnny Hugi in 2006, one child, eight-year-old Georgina.

Address: Wexcombe, Marlborough

Standing in Devizes are: Emma Dawnay (Green); Claire Perry (Conservative); David Pollitt (UKIP); Manda Rigby (Liberal Democrat); Chris Watts (Labour).