Political opinion with Eastbourne Green Party: ‘This is just the start’

Eastbourne Green Party has declared its historic county council election results a ‘remarkable success and a clear sign of the appetite for bold and hopeful politics in our wonderful town’.

Where the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat overall vote all declined, The Green Party increased its vote share in all nine divisions, sometimes as much as four-fold.

The Green Party finished almost two hundred votes ahead of The Conservatives to finish third in Devonshire, while narrowly missing out on third in both Upperton and Old Town. The Party increased its vote share from 3.9% to over 15% in Meads.

The results are particularly striking given the Eastbourne Green Party was only re-established at the end of January, following a tripling in its local membership, which now stands at 335. A week later, East Sussex County Councillor for Meads Brett Wright announced he was joining the Greens from the Liberal Democrats due to mounting frustration with ‘a lack of urgency and imagination among the established parties’.

The Green Party fielded a full slate of impressive candidates in the elections 7th May, including health care professionals, university researchers, an education and improvement consultant, and a transport coordination officer, while directing its full energies towards Cllr Wright’s re-election campaign in Meads.

Prof Ben Burbridge, Chair of Eastbourne Green Party, said that the campaign had been an energising experience: “Overnight, Eastbourne has changed. In many wards, this is now a four-party town: with the Greens neck and neck with the Conservatives for third place, and charting a rapid upward trajectory.

“With the exception of Reform, we are the only party in Eastbourne to have seen our vote increase, often dramatically so.

“That more than a hundred volunteers supported our ambitious campaign in Meads, giving up their time to deliver leaflets and knock on doors, is an exciting sign of how hard our supporters are prepared to work to do right by our town.

“We are of course disappointed that Brett Wright lost his seat in Meads, a community he cares deeply about and has worked hard for. But the astonishing four-fold increase in our vote share in an area that was for many years a Tory strong-hold shows both how popular Brett is with locals and how effectively our revived Green Party can campaign. 

“We now have time to prepare for the unitary authority elections next May, and to work far more closely with the many amazing communities in Eastbourne. These important results are just the start.”

Rachel Millward, Deputy Leader of the Green Party and candidate to be the first Mayor of Sussex & Brighton, who visited Eastbourne in April to support the campaign, said: “What the revived Eastbourne Green Party has achieved in just three months is nothing short of extraordinary. The energy and dynamism is fantastic. Big things could happen for the Greens in Eastbourne.”