Green Party says local election results in Suffolk give them hope for the General Election
Co-leader of the Green Party Adrian Ramsay told us what they want to work on
Last updated 22nd May 2023
The Green party say this is their chance to make a difference for people and the environment
This follows their historical results earlier this month at the local elections.
They had the highest ever growth in the party’s 50-year history with a record 200 gains. They also gained majority control of a local authority for the first time in Mid Suffolk
We spoke to the Co-leader of the Green Party and parliamentary candidate for the new constituency of Waveney Valley, Adrian Ramsay.
He told us this result has given them hope for the general election.
"We're really delighted at a record set of gains for the Green Party in this local election across the country, but particularly here in Suffolk and Norfolk where we've seen the Green Party take overall control of the Council for the first time in mid-Suffolk and indeed across Suffolk and Norfolk as a whole... We're now the largest party on three different councils in Suffolk.
"We saw gains in Norfolk in places like Norwich, Broadland and West Norfolk and more and more people turning to the Green Party in ever greater number and vote making a positive vote for fairer and greener communities...
"It gives us a chance to really make a difference for people in making the Council more accessible in pressing for more affordable housing for people in ensuring that we're protecting the countryside and pushing for better public transport.
"What it also does is paves the way for success at the general election because, on all of these issues, we need greens to be representing people at a national level.
"As well as at a local level, and we now have a fantastic chance in Suffolk and Norfolk to go one step further at the general election and elect a Green MP."
"People have liked what they've seen and decided to vote for more"
We asked Adrian why he thought more people had voted for the Green Party.
"They've had really hard-working councillors in their communities who make a real difference standing up for people on issues around housing, planning and transport and they want to see more greens in their community, in their Council standing up for them and that's why I think we've seen people vote green in ever-growing numbers."
What are the Green Party Planning?
We asked Adrian what the Green Party is hoping to achieve now that it has taken mid Suffolk.
"The key issues that people were raised with us during the election were that they are unable to afford homes in their own local area and... We want to see more social housing built locally.
"And also to be tougher with developers about including more affordable housing and new developments.
"We also want to protect the countryside to ensure that new developments are on brownfield sites wherever possible and push for more investment in public transport. The District Council has a certain amount of power on that, and we'll utilize that as much as we can.
"As well as campaigning to get greens elected at a national level, so we can really influence these decisions nationally."
How will the Green Party help the Cost of living crisis?
Adrian also told us he is incredibly passionate about reducing energy bills and feels an effective way of doing this is insuring houses are well insulated.
"We have the most inefficient, leaky homes in Europe here in the UK when people have their heating on in, in the winter, it goes out of the door, out of the window. "If we were to insulate our homes and have a program for mass insulation right across our region across our country, that would be great for creating jobs and supporting businesses.
"It would keep people's bills down on their homes, warm as well as address carbon emissions.
"And so policies like that can really make a huge difference to people's everyday lives as well as being good for the environment."