Oak Tree saved in Upper Norwood

We have received a note of thanks (see below) from residents in Upper Norwood for our efforts ensuring a 150 year old oak tree was not chopped down. For our part we had a lengthy discussion with the council officer who is responsible for Tree Preservation Orders. In all, it was the combined effort of locals pulling together and voicing their concerns that saved this tree from developers' plans.

Link to article in paper

"Thank you for all your support in our campaign to save our Oak tree, in Harold Road.
On Wednesday night we were informed that this campaign reached the Cabinet Minister responsible in Central Government and we were informed that the council was then instructed by them to request that the developer re draw his plans so that it did not involved the felling of this tree.
The Wildlife Crime Unit in Scotland Yard also got involved and supported us in stopping this crime by contacting the developer and the tree surgeons and informed them that they would be prosecuting if the tree felled, after nesting birds and sightings of bats were seen in the tree, in addition The Safer Neighbourhood Team heard of our story and became involved and climbed the tree to make a report of the the wildlife in it to support any evidence if felled."

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Tags croydon, greenparty

Breakdown of Croydon vote

Results taken from the London Elects web site shows that the Green vote in Croydon was very respectable.

Overall Vote for Croydon only

Constituency vote

Steve O'Connell (Con)------ 50028
Shafi Khan (Lab)----------- 27589
Abigail Lock (Lib Dem)-----11543
Shasha Khan (Green)------ 6364
David Pickles (UKIP)------- 5121
David Campanale (CPA)-----4971
Richard Castle (Eng Dem) -- 2239
Zana Hussain (Left List) ----- 972

Londonwide top up vote

Conservative - 45664
Labour - 27912
Lib Dem - 9636
Green - 6595
BNP - 5716
Christian Peoples Alliance - 4464
UKIP - 2764
Abolish Congestion Charge - 2314
RESPECT - 1442
English Dem. - 1251
Left List - 710
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Tags croydon, greenparty

Press Release: Croydon Greens celebrate Ruth's resounding victory

Croydon Greens are celebrating one of their former residing members being elected onto Norwich Council. Ruth Makoff, who had lived in Shirley since she was two years old, received over 50 per cent of the vote in Wensum ward, Norwich on 1st May 2008, to be duly elected as one of the 13 Green Party councillors on that council (1). She is studying for PhD at University of East Anglia.

She went to Benson Primary, Edenham and Archbishop Tennison School. Her mother Judith, who still lives in Shirley, was thrilled upon hearing the news.

Ruth Makoff is now one of 13 Green Party councillors in Norwich that now form the official opposition.

Commenting on victory, Ruth said:

"I was extremely proud to have been elected as a City Councillor in Norwich. I will be joining a strong team of 13 Green Party councillors on Norwich City Council where we will be pushing for more affordable housing, a strong, sustainable transport system and a resource recovery park where waste can be recycled at a local level, boosting the local economy.

Residents in Norwich have experienced the benefits of having hard-working Green Party city councillors who keep in regular contact with residents all year round rather than simply at election time. They have seen our dedication in taking up local issues, from litter and anti-social behavior to campaigning to save our Post Offices from closure.

As the first "official opposition" Green group on a local council we are building on the growing numbers of Greens on councils up and down the country - including Brighton and Lewisham, and I see no reason why we should not soon see a Green councillor in Croydon."

Ends.

(1) Election results
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Tags croydon, greenparty

GLA Election campaign vid

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Tags croydon, greenparty

Tory leaflet

I personally would like to 'thank' the Conservative Party for distributing a leaflet promoting our national policies in Thornton Heath. Admittedly, it was designed to scare voters into not voting for the Green Party and/or Ken but we will overlook that for the moment.

Interestingly, the tactic is all the more surprising when one considers that 5 years ago David Cameron wanted a comprehensive discussion on alternatives to drug prohibition and Alan Duncan supported the idea of full legalisation of cannabis.

Currently, there is a worldwide trend towards the decriminalisation of cannabis. Countries such as Spain, Italy and Switzerland are prepared to have a pragmatic and mature stance on such issues but we appear to have elected representatives that wish to play politics with the issue rather than listen to experts. Even in USA, Barack Obama has pledged to decriminalise cannabis if he becomes president.

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Tags croydon, greenparty

GLA results

The Ken versus Boris show certainly boosted the turnout in Croydon and Sutton. Occasional CONSERVATIVE and LABOUR voters came out to back their party. This caused the LIB DEM vote to squeeze but not the GREEN PARTY's! Our vote share actually increased to 5.17% - which meant the deposit was also saved!

Under the London-wide proportional system: again our vote held firm returning our 2 Green Assembly members (AM's). The LIB DEM's again experienced the squeeze and now only have 3 AM's!

In the Mayoral election, Sian Berry's vote also bucked the Red/Purple V Blue squeeze, resulting in the GREEN PARTY's share actually increasing.

A big thank you to all those that voted Green and contributed to the campaign. Onwards and Upwards!!!

Croydon and Sutton

Steve O'Connell (C) 76,477 (44.08%, +7.30%)
Shafi Khan (Lab) 33,812 (19.49%, +1.31%)
Abigail Lock (LD) 32,335 (18.64%, -1.49%)
David Pickles (UKIP) 9,440 (5.44%, -5.25%)
Shasha Khan (Green) 8,969 (5.17%, +0.83%)
David Campanale (CPA) 6,910 (3.98%, +1.00%)
Richard Castle (Eng Dem) 4,186 (2.41%)
Zana Hussain (Left List) 1,361 (0.78%)

C maj 42,665 (24.59%) 2.53% swing Lab to C Electorate 384,162;

Turnout 173,490 (45.16%, +9.13%)


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Tags croydon, greenparty

Redhill East - near miss for Jonathon Essex

A fantastic result, closing the gap from 366 to just 20 votes in one year.

Redhill East

Turnout: 38.10%

Candidate	Party	No. of votes	Elected
Barton, John W	The Labour Party Candidate	274
Essex, Jonathon, C S	The Green Party	763
Fox, Joseph B	UK Independence Party	159
Mendis, Rohitha	Liberal Democrat	190
Moore, Frank	The Conservative Party Candidate	783	Elected

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Tags redhill, greenparty