Vegan Greens Shock Result in Local Elections

Four members of RVV stood for the Green Party in the County Council Elections on the 4th June. The 3 vegans and a vegetarian shocked other political parties when a massive 14% of people across the town voted for the Green Party! We`re delighted that members of RVV gave residents the opportunity to cast a vote for a sustainable town.


The following text is taken from the Redditch Green Party Facebook page www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55655847338

The results are confused by the fact that 2 seats were up for grabs in each of the 4 County Council Divisions in Redditch. Therefore, voters could vote for 2 candidates on their ballot papers. Greens stood only one candidate in each division, whereas other parties stood two candidates in each. Although several hundred people (exact figure not known) cast a single vote for their Green Party candidate, the large majority who voted Green also voted for another party.

Out of 22,309 voters across the town, 3156 people voted Green (either solely or with another party) which is an incredible 14% and the Green percentage of total votes cast was 7.7%. We can not compare these results with previous local government elections as this was the first time Greens have stood in every division. But in 2001, Richard Armstrong stood for the Green Party in the general election and gained 1.8% of the vote. Although much of this increase over 8 years can probably be attributed to protest votes due to the expenses scandal, it`s very encouraging that people chose to vote Green rather than simply not vote at all. But we know this huge swing towards the Green Party is not solely down to protest votes. We`re convinced that local environmental campaigns, green fairs & press articles over recent years, combined with increasing awareness of environmental issues etc, have significantly boosted support for the Green Party.

Perhaps the biggest achievement is that every single voter in Redditch had the chance to vote Green, for the first time ever in local government elections! Very many thanks to everyone who supported us and voted Green this time round. We look forward to making further progress in Redditch in the future!

The full results for each division are below:



ARROW VALLEY EAST

Electorate 17330
Seats 2
Ballot Papers 6034
% Poll 34.82

Emma Louise Bradley - Green Party - 717
Juliet Ann Brunner - Conservative Party Candidate - 2159 Elected
David John Enderby - British National Party - 1204
David Howard Gee - Liberal Democrat - 936
Malcolm William Hall - Liberal Democrat - 1029
Bill Hartnett - The Labour Party Candidate - 1285
Gay Florence Hopkins - Conservative Party Candidate - 1809 Elected
Peter Smith - British National Party - 882
Graham John Vickery - The Labour Party Candidate - 1218

total number of votes cast - 11239
Green percentage of total votes - 6.4%
percentage of ballot papers with a Green vote - 11.9%



ARROW VALLEY WEST

Electorate 14621
Seats 2
Ballot Papers 4910
% Poll 33.58

Brandon Frank Clayton - Conservative Party Candidate - 1677 Elected
Andrew Fry - The Labour Party Candidate - 1410
Pattie Hill - The Labour Party - 1274
Jane Ann Potter - Conservative Party Candidate - 1626 Elected
Russ Taylor - Liberal Democrat - 900
Diane Elizabeth Thomas - Liberal Democrat - 1075
Kevin White - Green Party - 815

total number of votes cast - 8777
Green percentage of total votes - 9.3%
percentage of ballot papers with a Green vote - 16.6%



REDDITCH NORTH

Electorate 15025
Seats 2
Ballot Papers 5207
% Poll 34.66

Diane Elizabeth Haywood - The Labour Party Candidate - 1372
Robin Christopher Lunn - The Labour Party Candidate - 1334
Anthony Pitt - Liberal Democrat - 835
Simone Claire Rudge - Liberal Democrat - 941
Terry Spencer - Conservative Party Candidate - 2095 Elected
David Frank Oliver Thain - Conservative Party Candidate - 2238 Elected
Rylma Elaine White - Green Party - 823

total number of votes cast - 9638
Green percentage of total votes - 8.5%
percentage of ballot papers with a Green vote - 15.8%



REDDITCH SOUTH

Electorate 16004
Seats 2
Ballot Papers 6158
% Poll 38.48

Barry Peter Gandy - Conservative Party Candidate - 2929 Elected
Philip Gretton - Conservative Party Candidate - 2583 Elected
Adam Isherwood - Liberal Democrat - 874
Jonathan Paul Oakton - Uk Independence Party - 1515
Graham Robert Pollard - Liberal Democrat - 973
Mark Henry Shurmer - The Labour Party Candidate - 787
Alistair Derek Waugh - Green Party - 801
John Witherspoon - The Labour Party Candidate - 778

total number of votes cast - 11240
Green percentage of total votes - 7.1%
percentage of ballot papers with a Green vote - 13%

Date: 2009-07-20

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( Last updated by kevinrd on 2009-07-20 20:53:36 )