THE former mayor Basingstoke has branded a handful of projects in Basingstoke as ‘outrageous failures’.

Cllr Onnalee Cubitt, who was the Mayor of Basingstoke in 2021, was captured on a report by The Guardian focussing on Basingstoke.

Cllr Cubitt, who was first elected to the borough council in 2008, was briefly interviewed by reporter John Harris at the Conservative Party’s recent conference.

John, who had previously visited Basingstoke for the report, said that the town was “full of empty shops and empty offices”, adding: “That’s after 12 years of Conservative government”.

Cllr Cubitt responded, saying: “Basingstoke is quite a complex story,” telling him that she is a Basingstoke councillor.

She continues: “Basing View, Festival Place, the Camrose and the leisure park are completely disastrous, outrageous litany of failures.”

The reporter asks whether it whether these were Conservative failings, and Cllr Cubitt defends saying that she has “never been in the cabinet”.

When asked if she thought it would be different if she were in charge, she replies laughing: “Of course it would”.

The video is part of a series made by the Guardian, with John visiting different places around the country which are perceived to be Tory safe seats.

The reporter had earlier visited parts of Basingstoke speaking to people about the cost of living, including those who use the foodbank at Oakridge Methodist Church.

One woman who uses the service said: “This government is a joke, it’s very difficult to survive.” When asked what she would do if the foodbank wasn’t available, she replies: “I would go hungry”.

Later, another resident says she has been without heating or hot water for seven months because “that way I’m not using any gas, so then I can build up a bit of a buffer for winter”.

She also said that she was being “hammered by the bedroom tax” as her four sons have moved out of the home.

When asked whether she thought Basingstoke was a ‘comfortable’ place to live, she says: “A lot of it and a lot of it isn’t”.

The reporter also walked around the town videoing the empty shops and offices as well as a “decaying underpass” in Basing View.