Greens make huge strides in Leeds and promise to keep campaigning for the common good

8 May 2015

The Green surge arrived in Leeds yesterday, with the Green Party winning a record 5.2% share of the Leeds vote in the general elections and 8.9% in the local elections across the city. Green Councillor Ann Blackburn (Farnley & Wortley ward) was re-elected to serve on Leeds City Council. In the general election, Andrew Pointon (Leeds West) took 8.4% of the vote, Michael Hayton (Leeds Central) took 7.9%, and Tim Goodall (Leeds North West) took 7.0%.

Leeds Green Party has been running a #makeleedsgreen campaign highlighting how it would focus on:

defending the NHS

protecting green spaces

campaigning for safer streets for walking and cycling and better public transport

stopping the trolleybus and finding alternatives

ending the bedroom tax and campaigning for more affordable housing on brownfield sites

See its Leeds election video and manifesto.

Leeds Green Party is now setting out plans for how both its elected and unelected candidates will continue to engage people across the city and campaign on these issues.

The Leeds Greens campaign was aided by a huge rise in Green Party membership in Yorkshire and Leeds: membership has quadrupled in Yorkshire, with Leeds the fastest growing local party, now with 1015 members.

Parliamentary candidate for Leeds North West Tim Goodall says: “We are proud of the huge gains we have made in these elections, which are down to the fantastic efforts put in by our party members, and of course the many Leeds voters who put a cross in the box next to their Green candidate. Now we are a much stronger, bigger Leeds Green Party, with the support of so many Leeds voters, we are feeling excited about what we can achieve over the coming years, through our elected councillors, and by continuing to talk and listen to local people, and stand up for our communities.”

Tim continued, “Unfortunately, we believe many voters have been put off voting Green due to the pressures of ‘tactical voting’ to try to keep the Tories out. Opinion polls suggest that if everyone voted for policies they believed in, Greens would have gained an even bigger share of the vote. That’s why the Greens will continue to push for a fairer, more representative system so in future everyone has the confidence to vote for what they believe in.”

Joe Salmon, joint coordinator of Leeds Green Party and Headingley local election candidate, added “Through our campaigning in the run-up to the election we spoke to thousands of people in the area who cared deeply about ensuring we have a healthy, flourishing, sustainable community here in Headingley. It was wonderful to be able to explain how Green policies tally with these interests, and I’m sure that’s what won us such a strong local vote. I’m excited about working with the many local people I spoke to, and keeping on talking and listening to local residents – and hopefully seeing even greater Green representation on the Council following the next local election.”

Nationally the Green Party stood in a record 573 constituencies in the general election, including all eight in Leeds, giving more voters than ever the opportunity to vote for a real alternative to the major parties. They won a 3.8% share of the vote overall, up from 2.8% in 2010, with 1.1 million votes cast for the party across the UK and MP Caroline Lucas retaining her seat in Brighton with an 11% swing. The Party is an advocate of electoral reform to ensure government is representative of the votes cast.





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