Finally got a moment to type up what happened in the local elections.
Personally, the elections on 5th May were going to be interesting because areas that I have a strong connection with could - if all went to plan - could return their first Green councillor.
In Croydon, Ria Patel, Esther Sutton and Peter Underwood had been working all year round to make the breakthrough in Fairfield ward, and in Horley East and Salfords, Victoria Chester was hoping to add her name to the seven green councillors already on Reigate and Banstead council.
This year I stood in my home ward of Chipstead, Woodmansterne and Kingswood:
Result:
425 EALES Labour
530 KHAN Green
1562 PARNELL Conservative
Last year I had stood in Horley East and Salfords and fell 340 votes short. During the campaign, Victoria Chester - a long standing Horley resident - came and helped during the campaign. We knocked on doors together. Just a year earlier she was
"totally disengaged with politics." This time around, she won through the selection process and was aiming for victory.
Having been mega-active in Croydon from 2003-2015 I knew how unforgiving the first past the post system is in those densely populated wards.
On 6th May I saw this amazing result on the Reigate and Banstead council website :
Victoria Louise Chester(GRN)1,049- Robert David Marr(CON)1,025
- Tom Latter(LAB)444
I received a text from Victoria Chester:
OMG, I'm in total shock! And I need to go to work now!! Thanks for everything, will message later. 💚
On 7th May I got a text from Croydon Green, Martyn Post. He was explaining how the whole count was poorly organised - mainly because the Mayoral election was taking place at the same time.
His text read:
But watch out in Fairfield on Sunday night.....box counts at verification put it close between Lab and Grn. It actually caught me by surprise how it was going.
On Sunday evening I got a text from Croydon Green Tracey Hague:
Ria and Esther have made history 💚💚💚💚💚
Eventually the results came trough a full 69 hours after polls closed:
Ria Patel (Green) 925 elected
Robert Clark (Labour) 923 elected
Esther Sutton (Green) 913 elected
Peter Underwood (Green) 890
Jose Joseph (Labour) 883
I exchanged texts with Esther, reminding her that back in 2009, I talked to her about joining the Green Party! I also exchanged texts with Bernice Golberg - who for many years did so much for Croydon Green Party.
I also received messages via Twitter and Facebook saying "how much we all owed to people like you who spent years building Croydon Green Party"
WHAT A RESULT! I feel so proud for Ria, Esther and Victoria. Tough on Peter, as he didn't make the clean sweep.
Across the country Green councillors won seats in the most unexpected areas.
