The Green Party has selected a full slate of seventeen candidates that will stand in every Ward in Southend in the upcoming Local Elections in May.
Our candidates are a diverse bunch of passionate local people keen to bring Green ideas to the table. Our candidates are individuals from all walks of life, from Carers to University Lecturers; our team is as proudly diverse as the community we serve.
A full list of our candidates (and short bios) have been published on our Candidates Section.
Our vision for South East Essex is of a more equal, compassionate area that protects the vulnerable, provides decent homes, education, and health services for all; and recognises the right of future generations to be protected from the ravages of climate change and environmental degradation.
It was clear to us that our Manifesto should not just be a reiteration of our National Party’s manifesto (like most other local parties do), but rather a tailored plan of how we would deliver Green policies in our area.
We have a clear opportunity to make South East Essex an area fit for the future, and we genuinely believe that our Manifesto is the most rational, most effective, and most responsible roadmap to becoming the pioneering community we all know it can be.
There are many environmental issues across Southend that Greens would prioritise when elected;
Air Pollution in many areas in Southend is already illegally high, exceeding the safe limited as set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Traffic congestion along the A127 and A130, in addition to the pollution from the Airport only compounds these issues. Rather than kicking the can along the road by conducting long-term studies as the Conservatives are doing, Greens would introduce radical measures to help alleviate the town’s congestion crisis, and would bring in new controls to ensure clean, breathable air for our town.
Clean Air is a right, and our current administration is failing us.
Litter is at epidemic levels across the town; Marine pollution is at such the extent whereby voluntary groups in Southend (including some set up by the Green Party) are out almost every weekend collecting the discarded trash that sullies our wonderful beaches and coastline. Greens would continue to tackle rampant littering and fly-tipping and would seek to support voluntary groups in a community effort to tidy up our town. Other initiatives such as repair cafes, and upcycling groups would also be given funding to help repair and repurpose broken goods and electronics to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.
Small local businesses and our High Street are struggling. Whilst the Labour party believes the future of our High Street is residential, the Greens stand by our commitment to local business and believe that in order to save our High Street, we should be blockading any out-of-town retail parks that would seal the fate of our ailing high-street. Small cooperatives and businesses should be supported with concessions to business rates, and a full-time indoor fresh food market introduced to support local growers and help promote healthy eating.
Housing is at crisis-level in our town. More families are struggling to make ends meet, and many families are in destitution paying ever-increasing rent amounts each month. The Conservatives and Labour are lauding the Better Queensway scheme as one answer to our town’s issues, but in reality there will be no-truly affordable homes on the site for local people. We believe a sustainable and affordable housing revolution in our town is required. We need to stop building luxury commuter homes on Green-belt land, and should be building truly-affordable homes on the 50+ brownfield sites across our town, and supporting new housing co-operatives that will make it happen.
Our full Manifesto is published in the Our Manifesto section:
Nationally, the Green Party is continually growing and there are more Green Party representatives on Councils across the country than ever before. The South East Essex branch is the fastest-growing political party in the town, growing 30% year-on-year.
We have already delivered amazing results across the town, from stopping the monstrously expensive cliffslip museum, to working for residents in identifying and solving litter hotspots. We are already gaining a lot of support from people across the town who have told us that they’ll be voting Green this year; they really appreciate the honesty and hard work of our dedicated local volunteers. We already have three fantastic Green Councillors in Hullbridge, and we look forward to having Greens elected to Southend Council too.