For some, Local Election materials are a chance to convey what unique aspect of a particular candidate sets them apart from others.

For Victoria Ward Conservative candidate John Harland, this is perhaps a concept that he has failed to grasp in more ways than one.

They say that Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; Mr Harland seems to have taken it literally.

The South East Essex Green Party has recently been delivering candidate flyers across town, and it proudly bears the distinctive Green Party visual branding; an aspect that evidently Mr Harland appreciated enough to reproduce in his own election material.

The ‘Green Tag,’ synonymous with the Green Party’s visual identity, and a section of John Harland’s recent Election Communication leaflet

(The ‘Green Tag,’ synonymous with the Green Party’s visual identity, and a section of John Harland’s recent Election Communication leaflet)

In his election address, Mr Harland used a graphic oddly familiar to many Green Party members, in a form of appropriation of the Green Party’s ‘Green Tag.’

The ‘Green Tag’ forms an immediately-recognisable part of the Green Party’s visual branding, and is widely used by its candidates across the country, and more specifically in Southend, in all SEEGP materials.

This appropriation obviously either demonstrates an inherently indicative of a lack of creativity as seen in the majority of the Southend Conservatives or simply an appreciation of good graphic design.

Either way, we’ll leave it for you to decide whether Mr Harland was ‘inspired’ by our election materials or not.

A comparison of Mr Harland’s Electoral Leaflets before and after the South East Green Party delivered its leaflets is rather telling in our opinion:

John Harland’s first ([left] and more recent [right] electoral leaflets – note the radical shift in quality

Mr Harland’s previous election materials were riddled with poor grammar and outright false claims, and this new leaflet bears all the same hallmarks.

Interestingly, John chooses the Environment as his first topic of thought, citing the ‘previous administration’s’ choice of Veolia as the Borough’s Waste Contractor. He goes on to complain about the ‘previous administration’s’ removal of Litter bins, conveniently forgetting his party has controlled Southend Council for the last two years.

He also briefly grazes over the ‘Better Queensway’ scheme, which in our opinion, is one of the most important issues in the ward, if not the town.

You can read our analysis of the Queensway developments here:







We believe there is a better, harder-working candidate in the election in Victoria Ward;

You can read about Clare and the amazing work she is already undertaking on the Candidates section of our website.