Now is the Time to Act for a Wilder Future.

 

Activists and candidates from North Staffs Green Party have given their support to a manifesto for giving the county a wilder future published by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.

 

A spokesperson said: “the crisis facing humanity due to our neglect of the environment is growing more serious every year, we need to act now before it is too late”.

 

The Staffordshire Wildlife Trust manifesto calls on candidates to support five pledges during the campaign and to follow up on them if elected.

 

These are: creating a Nature Recovery Network with adequate funding to address issues such as species loss and the destruction of natural habitats; developing local solutions to the climate crisis; supporting access to nature as a way of boosting health and wellbeing; protecting wild places from destruction and promoting sustainable development and supporting innovative approaches to developing the green economy.

 

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust write in their manifesto that the next decade will be ‘crucial’ to the future of nature in the county, going on to say it could be a time of ‘renewal, of rewilding our lives’, but only ‘if we act now and act together’.

 

North Staffs Green Party have been actively engaged with protecting wild spaces across the county, including taking a leading role in the campaign to protect Cannock Chase.

 

In a statement launching the party’s campaign for the Staffordshire County Council elections Coordinator Jade Taylor said the party would be speaking out on: “the threat of loss to our local green spaces like Keele Golf Course, the increase of regular flooding, poorly built and maintained houses, the expected troubles HS2 will bring to our rural villages”.

 

Included in the actions Staffordshire Wildlife Trust recommend as necessary for nature in the county to recover by 2030 are, protecting 30% of the land in Staffordshire for nature; using local woodland to capture carbon and ensuring all new housing, commercial and infrastructure developments are designed to promote biodiversity and create nature rich spaces.

 

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust write: “people and communities benefit from thriving, accessible nature on their doorsteps as part of a Natural Health Service. Reconnecting with wild, green places improves the wellbeing and resilience of all”.

 

A spokesperson for North Staffs Green Party said: “protecting the environment is at the heart of everything our party stands for, as is making access to nature something that everybody is able to enjoy as a right,” adding that “we are determined to support the things Staffordshire Wildlife Trust are calling for at the election and long afterwards”.

 

Read about the policies Green councillors in Staffordshire would campaign for in the manifesto for the county [1] and what they say about protecting green spaces in their personal statements [2]

 

[1] : https://northstaffordshiregreenparty.blogspot.com/2021/04/manifesto-2021.html

[2] https://northstaffordshiregreenparty.blogspot.com/2021/04/election-candidates-2021.html

 

Greens Unveil a Slate of Candidates to Offer a New Kind of Politics.

 

North Staffs Green Party are standing in nine wards in the Newcastle-under-Lyme area at Staffordshire county council elections.

 

Today they have released statements by all nine candidates on their website [1]. The party also recently published its manifesto for Staffordshire [2].

 

A spokesperson said “this is the strongest and most diverse list of candidates we have put forward at a local election in the county. They bring with them a wide range of skills and life experience; this would make any one of them an invaluable addition to the county council”.

 

The candidates include Steve Jones (Newcastle Rural), a former member of the Royal Navy and disability rights campaigner. He wants to see improvements to public transport and more action on social justice, he says he wants to be a voice for those in the community who are rarely heard including “the elderly, the disabled and the isolated”.

 

Protecting green spaces is high on the campaign agenda for candidates with Roz Powell (Newcastle South) saying she wants to see the ‘beauty’ Lyme Valley extended into the nearby town centre to enhance the wellbeing of residents, adding that her priority is “the physical and mental wellbeing of every single person”.

 

Leon Hughes (Bradwell, Porthill and Wolstanton) also wants to see green spaces protected including Keele Golf Course and Bradwell Crematorium. Marie Powell (Audley & Chesterton) and Nikki Brough (Keele, Knutton & Silverdale) are calling for action to be taken on the ‘stink’ from Walley’s Quarry.

 

Marie Powell questions why it is considered acceptable for “people to breathe in fumes caused by a landfill that has been created next to a residential area?” Adding that the impact on the physical and mental wellbeing of local people has been ignored.

 

Nikki Brough describes the impact living with the ‘stink’ has had on her family as the motivation for standing as a candidate saying she is a “human with a normal life wanting to make a difference and a better future for my family and community”.

 

The North Staffs Green Party spokesperson said “the strong message locally and nationally is that after a time of hardship for many people we need a new and fairer kind of politics. This is a group of candidates committed to making that a reality”.

 

[1] https://northstaffordshiregreenparty.blogspot.com/2021/04/election-candidates-2021.html

[2] https://northstaffordshiregreenparty.blogspot.com/2021/04/manifesto-2021.html

 

 

 

We Want to Give Newcastle a Voice on the County Council.

 

North Staffs Green Party have announced their candidates for the county council elections due to take place on 6^th May.

 

Green candidates are standing in nine wards in Newcastle-under-Lyme Coordinator Jade Taylor said the party wanted “the community of Newcastle-under-Lyme, to have a voice, and we want your voice to mean something”.

 

The list of candidates is as follows: Marie Powell (Audley & Chesterton); Leon Hughes (Bradwell, Porthill &Wolstanton); Nikki Brough (Keele, Knutton & Silverdale); Adam Colclough (Kidsgrove); George Jones (Maybank & Cross Heath); Steve Jones (Newcastle Rural); Roz Powell (Newcastle South); Will Wood (Talke & Red Street) Jade Taylor (Westlands & Thistleberry).

 

She added that Newcastle is a “hard working” community and that it “deserves better” from its elected representatives, and that “North Staffs Green Party wants you to have better, to have what you deserve – be it work, education or welfare – we are all human and we all deserve a just, green society”.

 

Jade Taylor said they would be speaking up on issues including “Newcastle’s stinky tip, to the threat of loss to our local green spaces like Keele Golf Course, the increase of regular flooding, poorly built and maintained houses, the expected troubles HS2 will bring to our rural villages and never forgetting the need to support our underappreciated, underfunded NHS and care services”.

 

 

In their manifesto for Staffordshire the Greens include pledges to work towards creating a zero-carbon economy in the Staffordshire and improving public transport across the county. They also want to see the county council install more charging points for electric vehicles and to convert its own fleet to electric power.

 

 

An IPSOS/MORI poll published at the end of March saw the Green Party move up to third place with 8% of the people asked saying they would vote Green, a rise of 3% since the last survey in December.

 

Launching a national campaign in which the Greens intend to build on strong performances in the 2019 local elections and the general election Co-Leader Jonathan Bartley said “After the long, dark winter of Covid we want to make sure that we bring spring into all our council chambers with new hope for a greener, more caring future”

 

Adding that, “It is Green councillors and activists on the ground, working with local communities up and down the country, who are picking up the slack and doing what they can to ensure a green recovery for all”.

 

Speaking about the candidates for Newcastle Jade Taylor said: “We are a diverse team with lived experience. We are parents, friends, and family fighting for a just, green society – we want a better future for you and your children”.

 

For More Information Contact:

 

Adam Colclough

Press Officer North Staffs Green Party

Mobile:07776432636

Email: colclougha@aol.com

We want to make sure that we bring spring into all our council chambers with new hope for a greener, more caring future.

 

At an event held in Battersea Park Co-Leader Jonathan Bartley launched the Green Party’ campaign for the local elections, saying: “After the long, dark winter of Covid we want to make sure that we bring spring into all our council chambers with new hope for a greener, more caring future”

 

The party is aims to build the breakthrough local election results achieved in May 2019 pledging, to make UK homes more energy efficient, improve public transport and speed up the roll out of renewable energy.

 

He added that: “At the last local elections the Green Party doubled our number of councillors, which has proved absolutely vital over the last year as they have been the ones leading their communities and working hard to bring about a Green Recovery in their area”.

 

North Staffs Green Party are planning to stand in nine wards in May’s County Council elections: Keele, Knutton and Silverdale, Kidsgrove, Bradwell, Porthill & Wolstanton, Maybank & Cross Heath, Newcastle Rural, Audley & Chesterton), Newcastle South), Westlands & Thistleberry), Talke & Red Street.

 

A full list of candidates will be released following confirmation of applications.

 

In a statement Coordinator Jade Taylor said the party would be speaking up on issues including “Newcastle’s stinky tip, to the threat of loss to our local green spaces like Keele Golf Course, the troubles HS2 will bring to our rural villages and the need to support our underappreciated, underfunded NHS and care services”.

 

 

She added that for too long national and local government had ignored the problems caused by failing to care for the environment, and now “it’s on our doorsteps and in our homes”, the time has come for “practical action” to build a better and more sustainable future.

 

 

Green Party candidates in Staffordshire are committed to campaigning for the county to move towards establishing a zero-carbon economy, creating an integrated transport network and improving condition for workers in the care sector.

 

 

 

A spokesperson for North Staffs Green Party said, “this is a pivotal election, one at which we will decide how we recover from the difficulties of the past year”, adding that “it is vital we do so in a way that respects the environment and addressed the severe inequalities highlighted by the pandemic”.

 

 

 Ending his statement at the national launch Jonathan Bartley said: “It is Green councillors and activists on the ground, working with local communities up and down the country, who are picking up the slack and doing what they can to ensure a green recovery for all”

 

Watch a video presenting the key points from the Green Party manifesto for Staffordshire at: https://fb.watch/4Imnbb7oDB/, https://fb.watch/4Imqr6HFJz/