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Elections Groundhog Day

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So in the words of Dolly Parton – Here I come again!

No sooner had we got past the District Council elections than we were thrown into a General Election that I and most other pundits had assumed would be held in October or even November.

Theories as to why we’ve been dragged into the whole merry-go-round again at this premature juncture range from speculation about the likely state of the economy and the reduction in inflation, which no political party can realistically take credit for (although the Tories are trying), to the idea that Rishi and his Tory mates needed to get their CVs in for some cushy consultancy gigs before the end of the year.

The other likely reason of course is that there was a chance that a vote of no confidence could be called in Mr Sunak and he wanted to leave the political sphere (as he is likely to do) on the high of being the actual PM, if only in terms of his name badge.

Whatever the reason, here we are having been given only a short 6 weeks to make our case to the electorate, which for parties like the Greens, without the financial and operational reserves of some of the other parties is something of a tall order. But we’re used to tall orders. In the face of what seems like a deliberate policy of starving us of media attention in favour of far more ratings grabbing pint-swilling politico-celebs like Nigel Farage, we’re still garnering support from credible commentators and respected political analysts for both our economic and social justice proposals.

Former Citibank financial trader Gary Stevenson and host of the You Tube Channel Gary’s Economics has analysed the Green Party manifesto and classified it as the most credible and honest in real terms. In a recent video he confirmed that he would be voting Green because we are the only party to be offering a radical and workable alternative to the proposals from every other party.

Trade Unionist and former General Secretary of the Labour Party Jennie Formby has also announced on Twitter that she would be voting Green in this election along with numerous other high profile political and cultural leaders such as George Monbiot. It’s also reported that more and more young people are turning to the Greens as a real alternative to the ping-pong politics of the past 50 years.

As a moderate Green myself I’ve always seen the Greens as a true alternative vote, neither left or right. The Green Party officially rejects the traditional left–right political spectrum, describing it as “something of an anachronism” and that perfectly fits with my view on the world.

I’m standing as the Parliamentary Candidate for Bicester and Woodstock mainly because it’s my home constituency and the place I’ve made my home for 32 years. But above all that, it’s a place I’ve seen change drastically in that time with even more drastic changes in the pipeline. From the massive development plans in and around Kidlington, Yarnton, Begbroke and Bicester with large areas of greenbelt being decimated by ill-conceived local plans to proposals to armour plate 3500 acres of green fields and farmland for hugely unpopular solar farm project in the west. I’m concerned about what these things will do to the place I’ve called home for nearly half my life.

There’s obviously going to be a lot more to say on this election in the remaining 2 weeks, much of which I’ve not said so far due to dealing with my new responsibilities on Cherwell District Council after being appointed to the executive on the same night that the General Election was announced (great timing Rishi!). But I’ll be breaking my silence over the next 2 weeks.

In the meantime, doors are being knocked, leaflets are being delivered and pollsters are polling. There’s been a huge amount of speculation about who can win in this constituency and I’m not going to add to that with my own obviously biased opinions. But with a newly drawn boundary, every voter has the historic opportunity to vote in a brand new Westminster constituency for the first time where we could all buck the trends and help me and the Greens to show that any prediction in an unknown and untested area could be drastically inaccurate.

Can I win? Who knows? Am I serious about my candidacy? Absolutely! But then as anyone who knows me and knows my work as a local councillor and activist would tell you, I never do things by half measures. We all know that the Tories are finished, at least for the immediate future. We don’t need to vote tactically on a local basis in this election because after 14 years of chaos the country has finally woken up and are about to consign the current administration to the political skip.

That gives every voter in this area new opportunities and new possibilities. You can vote with your heart and for what you believe in. If that’s a better future for you and your family, a fully funded NHS and social care system, public utilities returned to responsible public control (particular water and energy), a better standard of living for all, raising millions out of poverty and protecting climate and nature, voting Green really is the only alternative. Even if I don’t win the seat, a vote for me that would contribute to a large swing to the Greens nationally will strengthen our hand in influencing national politics for the better. It will also put money into the party coffers through Short Money to help us continue the fight for a better, fairer, greener world for you and you family and their families to come.

I’ll do my best over the next couple of weeks to make my case for your precious vote in this election and I hope you will seriously consider giving me that vote on July 4th. You should shortly be receiving leaflets from me explaining my priorities. You can also browse this website which is being updated with local issues that I think will be important in the upcoming election. I will also be adding new topics in the next few days. If you want hear me speak in the meantime, I was interviewed by Byline Times recently and was able to cover many topics that I think will be important to voters in this election. You can see that here.

There are also a number of hustings that you can attend to ask questions of me and the other candidates. These are :

7.30pm – 24th June – Kidlington Methodist Church (forum on poverty)
7.30pm – 25th June – St. Mary Magdelene Church, Park St, Woodstock
7pm – 26th June – St Edburg Church Bicester
6.30pm – 1st July – CPRE Country side and Environment hustings at Yarnton Village Hall

I look forward to seeing as many people at those events as possible. If anyone would like to extend other invitations I am more than happy to come along. If any other events come up I will post them here and on my social media channels.

Remember – this is the election where YOU get to vote FOR what YOU believe in, rather than AGAINST what you don’t.

If you’d like to get involved in my campaign please drop me a line at ian.middleton@greenoxford.com

You could also contribute to my joint fundraiser to help me and my 2 fellow North and West Oxfordshire candidates reach more voters in this campaign. Click here to go to our Crowdfunder page

If you’d like a poster for your window or a signboard for your garden click here to let us know and we’ll do the rest

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The Last Conservative Administration in Oxfordshire Has Finally Fallen

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The new GaIA group of Greens and Independents

In May the North Oxfordshire Green Party had it’s 5th consecutive win in Oxfordshire gaining a further seat on Cherwell District Council. This gives us 4 members now having grown from the single member we had in 2019 (me).

As I reported last year we were poised to take control in 2023 as part of a 4 way alliance with the Lib Dems, Labour and the Independents. That whole project collapsed at the 11th hour when Labour pulled out of the deal because the didn’t want to work with the Greens. So we had to double our efforts this year to gain additional seats, along with the Lib Dems so that we could finish the job of removing the Conservatives from power across the whole of Oxfordshire. This was something both our parties had promised in 2023 but at that point without Labour’s support we couldn’t deliver on that pledge.

Happily this year we can!

Along with our Lib Dem colleagues we had the numbers this year to take minority control of the council. Sadly we are still 3 seats short of an overall majority, but we felt we needed to deliver on our promises and so have formed an administration. The comprises of two groups – the Lib Dems, who now sit as a single group rather than as part of a group with the Greens and the Independents who have now formed their own separate group which I lead. We joined with the single independent who had previously ben part of the Progressive Oxfordshire Group – the alliance I was a founding member of in 2019.

Our new group is called the Green and Independent Alliance, which neatly forms the acronym ‘GAIA’ which we thought was appropriate for a group of 4 Greens and one Independent, especially as the independent member is a Green in all but name.

Our two groups have now signed a formal coalition agreement to run the council together with 2 Greens, Myself and To Beckett sitting on the executive in Green and Environment roles.

This is a great outcome for us and we hope for the people of Cherwell. We hope to make the district a better place to live and work for everyone as well as improving nature recovery and tackling climate change.

Of course we have since been overtaken by events when on the very day we agreed our new administration Rishi Sunak called a General Election. I must admit that this rather caught us all on the hop just as we were all starting to get to grips with our new leadership roles on the council. This is even more tricky for me since I am the Green Party Parliamentary candidate for the new constituency of Bicester and Woodstock. There will be more on that in my next post.

The new coalition administration of Greens, Lib Dems and Independents after the first full council meeting of the new municipal year

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Greens Bitterly Disappointed as Labour Group Allow Conservatives to Take Control at Cherwell District Council.

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Yesterday evening saw the resumption of the adjourned Cherwell AGM after members failed to reach agreement on a leader and a controlling group last week.

After a second vote where only votes in favour could be counted, Barry Wood was elected to lead a minority Conservative administration after Labour pulled out of an alliance deal that was close to being finalised with the Lib Dems, Greens and Independents. Greens did not vote in favour of either the Conservatives or an unworkable Labour minority administration.

The deal had been all but agreed and a press statement signed off by all parties when, in a surprise announcement last Tuesday, Labour said that their National executive had vetoed the arrangement and wouldn’t allow the alliance to be ratified with a Green member on the executive. As the Greens formed slightly more than 10% of the proposed alliance it was reasonable for them to expect one executive position on a 10 person committee.  It was proposed that they would take the Environment portfolio.

As a result, no agreement could be reached over who would lead the council and the meeting was adjourned to give negotiations one more try. Labour subsequently refused to return to the negotiating table and instead added to their list of demands which further undermined the deal.

Speaking after the meeting Green Group Leader and Deputy Leader of the Progressive Oxfordshire Group Ian Middleton said :

“Greens are bitterly disappointed that we have not been able to fulfil our promise to the electorate and take joint control of the council from the Conservatives. We apologise to residents for that but Labour made it impossible to agree an equitable deal that they would have been a significant part of with 50% of the Executive seats.  We only asked for one seat on a 10 seat executive which was proportionate in view of us making up slightly more that 10% of the total alliance.

Having originally agreed to this arrangement, Labour suddenly pulled the plug citing diktats from their National Executive which local members have capitulated to.  Considering this will also cut Labour out of an alliance as well as joint leadership of the council, this seems incredibly short-sighted.

It seems Labour would rather allow a minority of 20 Conservatives to stay in control of the council than accept one Green on the executive. They also demanded that Labour should be leader, which none of the Progressive Oxfordshire Group were comfortable with considering Cllr Woodcock’s disingenuous statements in the media surrounding the collapse of talks.

We were faced with impossible demands from Labour whose faceless National Executive committee are dictating to local Cherwell residents over who should be in control of their council.  Greens strongly support localism, but it seems Labour would rather allow their central office to force a Conservative administration on to our communities.

Greens have worked hard over the last 5 years, along with the Liberal Democrats and Independents to reduce the Conservative majority to the point where we would have been able to take joint control with Labour.  In that time we have taken 13 Conservative seats whilst Labour have only taken 3. With 3 members, the Greens make up the deciding majority and should rightfully have a seat at the table.

It’s quite clear that Labour have betrayed the people of Cherwell by focusing on their own political interests rather than those of the electorate. From now on, every terrible decision and policy that the Conservatives push through can be laid at the feet of Labour. Every appalling injustice imposed on our community as a result of Conservative control can be traced back to this moment.  

Greens will now be part of a strong opposition on CDC rather than in an unstable alliance with Labour. We will continue work along with our Liberal Democrat and Independent colleagues in the spirit of co-operation that Labour have rejected and hold the Conservatives to account as part of a strengthened official opposition.

We are confident that together we can win enough additional seats next year to take control without Labour’s help and will do so at the first opportunity. The door is still open for Labour to come to their senses and agree a fair deal with us to take control of the council at any point during the year.  In the meantime the Conservatives plans, including further green belt erosion as part of their local plan and a lack of genuine affordable housing will be resisted to the best of our ability. We hope Labour will at least join us in supporting that endeavour”