Our WECA mayor campaign was positive, inclusive and reached more people in South Glos than ever before. It has given us stronger foundations to build on, writes Siân Harris, Coordinator, South Glos Greens.
Thank you to everyone who voted in the WECA mayor election on Thursday. It was a close-fought election with our Green candidate Mary Page coming third overall. Congratulations to our new mayor, Helen Godwin; we look forward to working with you.
Despite Labour holding the WECA seat, Thursday’s results across the country and in our region show that people are frustrated with traditional politics. People don’t feel listened to or represented. They feel let down by cuts to public transport, by gridlocked roads, by pressure on local services like schools and surgeries. They feel powerless in the face of the extensive housing development plans and erosion of our green spaces.
We understand that. We share those concerns and frustrations. It is clear from Thursday’s results, and from the general election, that the era of two-party politics is over. But there is another option, one of hope, not hatred. One that looks to bring a more positive and inclusive society without compromising on environmental standards or fuelling hatred against the most vulnerable and marginalised in our society.
Our passionate and hard-working candidate Mary Page offered that hope. We thank Mary for standing and all her hard work. And congratulate her on a great campaign, fought in a genuine, positive and inclusive way.
More campaigning than ever before
I see that same hope in our local party members who showed up again and again in this election. Together, we did more campaigning in South Gloucestershire than we have ever done before. We started our part of the WECA campaign with a modest goal to get leaflets through doors in two or three target council wards in the potential “Green hedge” (bordering Bristol). In reality, our amazing team of volunteers delivered leaflets in 16 of the council wards across South Gloucestershire.
This included almost all the wards that border Bristol. It included three of the wards that make up our share of the Bristol North East parliamentary constituency where Greens came second in July. We also delivered in wards in our part of the North East Somerset and Hanham constituency where we anticipate a by-election due to criminal proceedings against the current MP. And we delivered leaflets in many of the places that will be most affected by development plans. South Glos Greens also put up posters, chatted with local residents, rang around local supporters, donated money, attended the count, helped plan the campaign, and went into Bristol to help with campaigning there. We have listened to the concerns of more residents in South Glos than we’ve ever been able to before, giving those voters a real voice for hope!
I believe these efforts paid off. Despite there being six candidates in this election compared with the four in 2021, and despite the meteoric rise by Reform, the Green Party received close to the same proportion of the vote in South Glos as we did last time.
This in itself is significant. However, I think we have achieved more than that. We are a small party in an area that has no Green district councillors and has little experience of running targeted campaigns where we live. This WECA campaign has brought us together in new ways and brought a new energy to the local party. I am so impressed with what we have achieved and so proud to be part of such a great team.
Keeping the momentum
Our campaign has given us stronger foundations and we don’t want to lose this momentum. Many of us have taken this weekend to sleep, relax and enjoy the sunshine (I know I did!). But we are looking ahead to the 2027 council elections, with likely by-elections before then.
It will not be easy, especially if Reform’s popularity continues. We need to plan and build on the efforts we have started. We need to show that the Green Party provides a positive alternative.
We’ll hopefully have a social event in the coming weeks. Then our next big meeting is our AGM, which will be in June or July. There will be an opportunity to join our committee or offer support in other ways. It will also be a chance to work together and plan our strategy for the next two years. Please do look out for emails about the AGM. We hope you can join us.
In the meantime, if you have ideas of things we can do or want to offer support in any way please do get in touch.
Thank you for being part of our local party.