Letter: Why GGG is Better for Guildford’s People Than the Green Party

Published on: 16 Apr, 2021
Updated on: 16 Apr, 2021

From: Susan Parker

GGG borough councillor for Send

It may interest voters to know the Green Party offered GGG a non-compete pact for this election on May 6.

Then, for reasons yet unknown, the Green Party decided not to honour that, and to stand in both Send and Shere. So much for integrity.

GGG stands a good chance in Send and Shere. In 2015 and 2019, GGG won both seats in Send ward. Sadly, Patrick Sheard, the GGG councillor who stood alongside me in 2019, died last summer, triggering a by-election (Guida Esteves is our borough council candidate).

We also have a good chance in Shere, where our county council candidate is Julia Osborn. Shere county division includes all the ward of Send, but also part of the Clandon & Horsley ward where we had borough councillors elected in 2015 and 2019, and Tillingbourne ward. In 2015, GGG did well in Tillingbourne.

No candidate stood in 2019 and we know some voters thought Diana Jones was standing for GGG and voted for her as a paper candidate by mistake. Guida Esteves and Julia Osborn are Send parish councillors, with experience in local government, and have battled the Local Plan and local overdevelopment.

The Green Party and GGG are different. That is really important to recognise We are not affiliated in any way. GGG is a local party. We have consistently stood for local environmental policies. We don’t break our promises.

With only three councillors (2015-19), we brought in a Climate Change resolution and set up a Climate Change working party; we campaigned and set up initiatives to improve air quality locally and we have fought to avoid unsustainable bad planning on environmental grounds.

We have always sought to protect our local environment. We have also stood up for honest and transparent government and financial and fiscal responsibility. We punch well above our weight.

GGG are better for your local environment than the Greens. We are not burdened by the national political baggage that is a distraction and we’re not politically correct.

Mark Bray-Parry a leading spokesperson for the Green Party in Guildford responded: “It is true that we approached GGG with an open mind to discuss how best we could cooperate in the forthcoming elections. But GGG made it clear that a reciprocal arrangement would not be possible in these elections.

GGG’s expectation that Green Party members just “join GGG” fails to recognise The Green Party’s broader appeal as a Party for those who seek social justice and not just environmental justice.

Consequently, the decision was taken to stand in both the SCC division of Shere and the WBC ward of Send.”

Responses to Letter: Why GGG is Better for Guildford’s People Than the Green Party

Harry Eve Reply

April 17, 2021 at 10:30 am

When the national Green Party first formed I did think this is the party for me but now they are effectively risking keeping Tories in decision-making seats in local government.

And there is no party whose actions have been (and still are) worse for the environment (nationally and locally) than the Conservatives.

The Greens should be supporting the Guildford Greenbelt Group locally, given its environmental record in Guildford Borough Council, and help them take a seat from the Tories in Surrey County Council.

Genuine action on the environmental cause locally is more effective than having a name on the ballot paper. It is GGG councillors who have been very effective in taking the lead in securing action on air pollution and Climate Change in Guildford borough.
Linda Parker-Picken Reply

April 18, 2021 at 9:07 am

It’s rather telling of a lack of understanding of fine local detail that Mark Bray-Parry is quoted as saying that the Greens are standing against the Guildford Greenbelt Group in the “WBC ward of Send”. Send is of course not in Woking.

The GGG is a local party that has served for six years on Guildford Borough Council and has a wealth of local knowledge on both the town and local villages.