Greens elected to Bradley Stoke Town Council and Thornbury Town Council, as well as Green councillors on Filton Town Council, Charfield Parish Council, Westerleigh and Coalpit Heath Parish Council and Frampton Cotterell Parish Council.
As long-established Green Party groups celebrate big district council wins today, Greens in South Gloucestershire are marking our own milestone. We have seen our first directly elected Green Party members to town councils in South Gloucestershire, in Bradley Stoke and Thornbury.
In results declared earlier today, 18-year-old James Nelson was elected to Bradley Stoke Town Council. He was one of six candidates in Primrose Bridge ward and attracted more votes than any other candidate in his ward, with 20% of the vote share.
James has lived in Bradley Stoke for most of his life and experienced first hand many of the challenges facing particularly young people in the local area around public transport and lack of services. He said:
“I want better for our town and that’s why I joined the Green Party and why I stood as a councillor. The Greens believe in doing things differently, in putting people and planet first. I will be a proactive councilor, fighting in our corner for better services and for the issues we all care about. I look forward to working with councillors of all stripes and people across the area in the interests of the town, and to ensuring that you know what your town council is doing for you. Thank you to everyone who voted for me.”
Also declared today, Danny Bonnett was elected to Thornbury Town Council. Father-of-two Danny is Chairman of Sustainable Thornbury. He has been particularly focused on the development of the Biodiversity Ring. This is a ring of footpaths around the town, promoting the health of flora and fauna, and looking to connect our biodiversity hotspots for benefit of citizens and nature alike. Danny said:
“As your new town councillor, I will work to improve nature in the town, support our vibrant local community, and to help the town council reduce its carbon footprint. Thank you to all those in Thornbury who elected me to be one of your new councillors.”
Although James and Danny are our first Green town councillors to be elected, they are not the first to represent Greens at a local level in South Gloucestershire. Dan Boardman returns to Filton Town Council for a second term. In addition, Pete Watts has become a parish councillor in Charfield, Carolina Echegaray joins Westerleigh and Coalpit Heath parish council and Alan Lankester joins Frampton Cotterell Parish Council.
