Dragon Interview: GGG Leader, Ramsey Nagaty

Published on: 12 May, 2021
Updated on: 24 May, 2021

Ramsay Nagaty

We interview the leader of the Guildford Greenbelt Group (GGG), Ramsey Nagaty about his view of the SCC election.

GGG narrowly missed out on a seat when they fell 78 votes short of taking their first seat in Shere Division. But they successfully held their borough council seat in Send in a by-election caused by the sad death of Patrick Sheard.

Cllr Nagaty describes what happened in the negotiation with the Green Party before the election and discusses his view of the county council result and his view that a Review of Guildford Local Plan should be urgently sought…

Responses to Dragon Interview: GGG Leader, Ramsey Nagaty

Sam Peters Reply

May 20, 2021 at 9:15 am

Just a few points we didn’t have time to respond to in my interview with the Dragon:

– The idea that I was a paper candidate is utter nonsense. As I was told by every single resident I asked, and by many unprompted, I was the only candidate who bothered to door-knock – reaching nearly 2,000 houses across the area. Along with some amazing volunteers I hand-delivered a leaflet to the entire division, followed up with two more. I attended every event I received invitations for, answered hundreds of messages from local people including helping several with existing issues with nearby development and roads. I wanted to win this as much as – if not more than – any other candidate.

– Mr Nagaty also alleges that a local resident told him at the polling station that I ‘had to stand in both elections as I’d need the income from both councillor positions to give up my job’. I can’t say this isn’t what he was told, of course, but again this is utter nonsense. I do remember a conversation about the possibility of continuing to work as an intensive care researcher if I was to win both elections, and said that in the extremely unlikely event that happened, I would be prepared to give up my job if necessary – in fact, I tend to think that being a councillor should be something that you put as much time into as possible, and that if you aren’t prepared to do so you shouldn’t stand. I obviously didn’t say I had to stand in both for the income, not least because I was fully aware that the chances of winning both were extremely small.

– To acknowledge that the majority of our policies are very different, but also claim that the Green Party would split the GGG vote rather than the other way round, is clearly disingenuous. We certainly don’t believe that the majority of the electorate is incapable of reading a leaflet or choosing a party based on their policies, or at least the policies they actually publish. Looking at the share of the vote from 2017 seems to corroborate this, as it looks likely the progressive vote this time round (for the Green Party and Labour) was almost entirely taken from the same parties plus the Lib Dems from the last election, with GGG mainly splitting the Tory vote.

– The attacks we’re repeatedly having to rebut that the Green Party can’t represent local residents because we have national candidates is meaningless. As I’ve said already, I’m a member of the Green Party because of the policies I believe in, not the other way round – and the idea that I couldn’t represent residents locally because I take an interest in and agree with national policies is as silly as thinking that the way an Independent councillor votes in national elections affects their ability to work for local people.
John Perkins Reply

May 20, 2021 at 11:54 pm

Can Sam Peters please explain what nation his party claims to represent and what it offers to local people. In Scotland his party supports independence from the UK. How does that benefit Guildford?