Cllr Maisey was elected to Stroud District Council last year for the Severn ward, which includes the Parishes of Arlingham, Eastington, Frampton on Severn, Fretherne-with-Saul, Great Oldbury and Whitminster.

He served on the Environment and Development Control committees.

Cllr Maisey was the agent for Simon Opher MP’s successful parliamentary campaign last year.

Cllr Catherine Braun, leader of the council, said: “I was shocked and saddened to learn of Richard’s passing. I really enjoyed working with Richard and his good humour, commitment to local residents and cross-party engagement on environmental and many other issues always shone through.

“He will be sadly missed at Stroud District Council, and I’d like to extend my sympathy to his family and fellow Labour councillors, as well as to his colleagues and friends in the communities of the Severn Ward.”

Cllr Adrian Oldman, coordinator of Stroud District Green Party, said: “I would wholeheartedly echo Catherine’s sentiments about Richard. He was a thoroughly committed champion of the environment, a pragmatist, and an extremely hard working Labour activist. I’d like to send my sincere condolences to Richard’s family, friends and his Labour Party colleagues.”

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This is untrue.

What actually happened during the Budget setting was this:

Greens asked for amendments to the budget to give £420,000 to social and environmental projects. The Tories accepted our amendments.

Labour also asked for an amendment – to have £550,000 made available for councillor funding (which could have been used – as David Drew has done in the past – for community hubs).

The Tories rejected this amendment, and the Greens abstained as there was by then no money available for the amendment, because all of the pot had been allocated (to Green and jointly agreed amendments).

As there was no alternative budget on the table, Greens voted for the budget, since we’d got everything we’d asked for.

Since then, the Tories have found a spare £20,000 per councillor, and reinstated the councillor funding scheme anyway.

To repeat, Greens did NOT vote against the Labour amendment and we certainly did not vote to cut hub funding.

Click here to read the relevant minutes, where the relevant pages are 15-22.

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Stroud District Green Party has named its candidates for the Gloucestershire County Council elections on May 1.

The party is standing candidates in all 11 divisions in Stroud District, and is confident that it can increase the number of Green seats on GCC (currently four).

The Green candidates are as follows:

Bisley & Painswick: Cllr Gary Luff, district councillor for Painswick;

Haresfield & Upton: John Patient;

Stroud Central: Cllr Natalie Rothwell-Warn, district councillor for Stroud Slade;

Stonehouse: Tom Jarman;

Rodborough & Cainscross: Cllr Craig Horrocks, town councillor for Farmhill & Paganhill;

Minchinhampton: Cllr Chloe Turner, county and district councillor for Minchinhampton;

Nailsworth: Cllr Gill Thomas, district councillor for Minchinhampton;

Dursley: Dr Richard Dean;

Hardwicke & Severn: Kerri Tyler;

Cam Valley: Cllr Liz Hillary, town councillor for Stroud Central;

Wotton: Cllr Sue Fenton, town councillor for Stroud Trinity.

More details about each Green candidate can be found here: https://stroud.greenparty.org.uk/your-green-candidates-cc/

In addition, there will be at least seven Greens standing in other parts of the county.

The list of candidates from all parties: https://www.stroud.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/elections/gloucestershire-county-council-elections-and-stroud-central-district-ward-by-election-thursday-1-may-2025/other-notices

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Gerald was a significant figure in SDGP’s elections successes over a number of years in the 2010s, serving as both Elections Agent and Campaign Manager, as well as standing as a candidate at District, County and Parliamentary level. He introduced EARS (Election Agents Record System) to the local party, spending many hours slaving over the computer, while also being out and about organising campaigns.

He managed the Party’s first successful County campaign, when Sarah Lunnon was elected, and worked for Sarah through her two terms of term of office as a Green County Councillor. Gerald was also a passionate campaigner against the incinerator (commissioned by the Tory County Council) and chaired the GlosVAIN campaign group. 

Gerald would have loved to see more Greens elected to the County Council and Sue, his wife, hopes that this donation will go a small way towards helping to achieve that result in 2025.

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This will be the second time that Cate has stood for election to SDC. In the May 2024 local elections she came a close second: the results were David Drew (Labour) 408, Cate James-Hodges (Green) 326, Susan Cursham (Conservative) 70.

The by-election is being held due to David Drew’s recent unexpected resignation from Stroud District Council and from his seats on Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) and Stroud Town Council.

Cate James-Hodges works as the political assistant to the 22-strong Green group that leads Stroud District Council. She has been a member of the Stroud District Youth Council since 2019 and was its Leader for two years until June 2024.

These roles have given her wide ranging public speaking and communication experience as an elected officer, an understanding of how councils operate and make policy, and experience of connecting with individuals and groups in the local community on the delivery of local services.

She won the 2023 Stroud Town Council Young Person of the Year award.

Cate said: “I came so close last May to winning the Stroud Central seat. The results showed that there is enormous support for the Greens in Central Stroud. On the campaign trail, residents often told me they would welcome a change from the stereotypical perception they have of local politicians. There was appetite among the voters for a younger councillor who has energy, enthusiasm and lives in the ward.”

If elected, Cate will get involved in SDC’s work on climate and nature action, community services and housing. She would also like to see more council-run recreation facilities, and measures to improve safety for women, and will work to encourage more young people to vote.

The Greens are also fielding a candidate for the Stroud Central GCC seat, which was also occupied by David Drew until the Labour Party decided that he would not be standing for re-election this year. The Green candidate is Cllr Natalie Rothwell-Warn, who is the district councillor for Slade ward (pictured, right, with Cate).

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The Green Leaders of Forest of Dean District Council and Stroud District Council have confirmed that they remain open to considering the options for one or two unitary councils in Gloucestershire. 

The proposals setting out the current options about how local government in the county should be reorganised, were submitted to the Government on Friday (March 21).

Cllr Adrian Birch, Leader of Forest of Dean District Council, said: “We are open to considering all the options for new unitary councils and supporting the one which gives the best future for our local communities.

“In recent weeks, there’s been much discussion about the one-unitary and two-unitary council proposals, but it’s too early to decide which one to go for, in the absence of more evidence about their impact on local services and democratic representation. Wide community and stakeholder engagement will also be essential to inform our final decisions ahead of the deadline in November.” 

Cllr Catherine Braun, Leader of Stroud District Council, added: “The bigger picture for devolution, and arguably the more important decision for Gloucestershire, is which strategic authority we want to align with, as that’s where any additional powers and funding will be secured for the county. All the evidence we’ve seen so far points to Gloucestershire joining the West of England Combined Authority (WECA).

“This would allow us to stay connected to our regional capital in Bristol and to remain within the South West region. We have strong ties to WECA through alignment of our economic sectors, joint projects, and our shared West Country identity. This alignment would also build on the work of the Western Gateway pan-regional partnership, which strengthened working across the West of England region and Wales.”

Both the Forest of Dean and Stroud district councils have agreed to consider any future unitary council options in relation to a set of principles, in addition to the Government’s tests for financial viability.

These principles include: maintaining delivery of council services at a local level; securing economic prosperity which meets the needs of all, particularly the most vulnerable; a focus on long-term effectiveness not just short-term savings; protection of the environment with ambitious nature recovery and climate action; recognition of our strong local identities; support for parish and town councils and the voluntary and community sector; a balanced structure which does not exacerbate wealth imbalances; and the strengthening of local democratic input and representation.

NOTES

Forest of Dean District Council principles for Local Government Reorganisation

Item 9 – Forest of Dean District Council, para 4.3

https://meetings.fdean.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=120&MId=5583&Ver=4

Stroud District Council principles for Local Government Reorganisation

Item 3, paragraph 3.3

https://stroud.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=143&MId=1587&Ver=4

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Stroud District Green Party has welcomed the “robust” response of Stroud District Council to the government inspectors who proposed withdrawal of the Local Plan last month.

The letter from SDC addresses in detail every aspect of the issues the inspectors raised about the Plan, says the council is “profoundly disappointed” at the inspectors’ continued advice to withdraw the Plan, and asks them to reconsider.

It emphasises that the conclusions the inspectors reached are flawed in many respects, the inspectors having “fundamentally misunderstood the factual position”. It accuses them of taking into account a legally irrelevant consideration in one example, and of misunderstanding the government’s policy approach.

Cllr Chloe Turner said: “The purpose of a Local Plan is to specify, through gathering all the evidence, undertaking surveys, and assessing transport issues and housing need, where new development should take place. The Local Plan process allows for community engagement, an evidence-based assessment of the options, and consideration of the needs of our local area.

“Without a Local Plan, it would be over to developers to determine what is built and where it goes, with limited power for the Council to challenge proposals for building in unsuitable locations.

“As the chief executive of SDC points out in her incisive and robust letter, many of the inspectors’ objections simply do not stand up to scrutiny. There are areas where the inspectors have clearly not fully understood what is a complex situation, and other areas where they have misinterpreted and misapplied their own policies. This is unacceptable when the issue is so vitally important to our communities. We want to know, in detail, what the inspectors did and didn’t find to be sound about the Plan.”

Cllr Turner thanked the local Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs for their support for the draft Local Plan for Stroud District, especially Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, who spoke at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (March 12).

She said: “Sir Geoffrey pointed out that the housing Government wants to see built in our area cannot take place without the necessary transport infrastructure, and called on the Prime Minister to make infrastructure investment a priority. I hope the Prime Minister and Housing Minister will listen and support our efforts, so that we can finally get the Local Plan over the line.”

The letter from SDC can be seen here:

SDC Response to the Inspectors, 3 March 2025

https://www.stroud.gov.uk/environment/planning-and-building-control/planning-strategy/stroud-district-local-plan-review/local-plan-examination/examination-library

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown’s comment can be heard at 23 mins 40 secs here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00290xc/prime-ministers-questions-12032025)

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Stroud District Green Party are hosting a ‘Question Time’-style debate, independently chaired and moderated, to discuss the forthcoming local government devolution, and to hear the opinions on threats and opportunities it presents from an expert cross party panel of local politicians.

If you value local democracy, come and make your voice heard – and join the debate!

Free to attend – but please register so we have an idea on numbers: click here

There will be opportunities to ask questions on the evening but if you would like to submit a question in advance please send it by email to data@stroudgreens.org.uk

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Gloucestershire Greens are delighted to have it confirmed that the Gloucestershire County Council elections are to go ahead, despite the council’s Conservative leader trying to have them cancelled.

Adrian Oldman, coordinator of Stroud District Green Party, said: “Around the country, people are being denied a vote at local elections in May because the Labour government wants to do away with many local councils and replace them with more unaccountable bodies.

“Cllr Stephen Davies, Conservative leader of Gloucestershire County Council, jumped on this move and tried to have these elections cancelled, because the county’s Conservatives were scared to face the voters with their painfully slim control of the council. Thankfully his request was turned down by the government yesterday, but the local Conservatives have forfeited their right to represent the county as we face an uncertain future for local decision-making.

“Now the government has confirmed that elections are being held here, let’s make sure the government hears from local people.”

Beki Hoyland, coordinator of the Forest of Dean Green Party, said: “The big parties in Westminster claim they want to devolve more power to local councils, but Labour’s latest plans will see this year’s election cancelled in eight counties. Our fragile democracy can’t afford to ignore the people’s right to vote.”

There are already five Green county councillors in Gloucestershire and the party believes it can increase that number significantly in May.

Adrian Oldman added: “We will have candidates standing so that people’s views on what happens in the place they live are heard in the council chamber.”

National Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay MP said: “It’s hard to think of anything more anti-democratic than cancelling elections ahead of a significant change in local democracy. It’s straight out of an authoritarian playbook. How can politicians claim an electoral mandate for major local government changes if those most impacted see their elections cancelled? 

“The Green Party is urging the government to save our democracy, allow these long-planned elections to take place and get around the table to discuss how to make devolution work for people in local areas across the country.

“We want decisions made closest to where they have the greatest impact with significant devolution of powers and funding from Westminster. Without that, people will grow ever more cynical about politics.”

The government’s plans are outlined here:
16 Dec 2024 Local government reorganisation: letter to two-tier areas – GOV.UK
5 Feb 2025 Devolution revolution: six areas to elect Mayors for first time – GOV.UK

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Gloucestershire Greens say the Gloucestershire County Council elections in May must go ahead, for the sake of public trust in local democracy.

The county’s Green parties – Stroud District, Forest of Dean, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, Cotswold and Gloucester – say the Conservative administration’s proposal to postpone the elections for a year is “undemocratic” and “must be resisted”.

The Conservatives want to postpone the elections to focus on fast-tracking the government’s plans for ‘devolution’ – the abolition of 164 district councils and 21 county councils across the country, with power moved to new and larger local authorities.

Adrian Oldman, joint coordinator of Stroud District Green Party, said: “Given the Conservatives’ current wafer-thin majority on GCC, they are likely to lose control in May. Their attempt to postpone the elections seems opportunistic, manipulating the system so they can cling on to power for another year.

“It is undemocratic, unnecessary and totally unacceptable. If the elections are postponed, or maybe, cancelled, these seemingly inevitable proposals for supersized councils will be pushed through by councillors whose terms will have expired. The elections must go ahead for the sake of democracy.”

Cheltenham Borough councillor Tabi Joy commented: “Even though this reorganisation would have profound effects on our communities, neither residents nor councils have been consulted. There has been no opportunity for any formal debate or vote on the matter. But if councils refuse to cooperate, the changes will be forced on us by the government. We have no choice but to engage with the process and try to get the best possible outcome for our residents, businesses and local democracy.”

Adam Shearing, coordinator of Gloucester Green Party, added that postponement of the elections would unfairly delay the election of the two additional Gloucestershire county councillors proposed almost two years ago (March 2023) by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England. “The LGBCE deemed that people in Gloucestershire are already under-represented in terms of the number of county councillors. A postponement would be unfair in that it continues the democratic deficit for yet another year.”

Greens support genuine devolution, but say the proposed reforms would take power away from local communities. Dr Clare Turner of the Cotswold Green Party said: “Everything points to ‘devolution’ being forced through. It will steal decision-making power away from local people by placing power in the hands of vast councils, remote from our communities and controlled by central government. This can only undermine local democracy, leaving communities feeling even more powerless, further eroding trust and confidence in politics.”

At Tewkesbury Green Party, coordinator Matt Dimond-Brown called the reorganisation “an outright attack on local democracy”, saying: “Middle-sized towns will be wiped from the political map in this gerrymandering exercise, and rural areas will see power moved further away, held by fewer locally elected representatives.

“This isn’t about genuine devolution or even increased efficiency; Labour’s primary purpose is to remove ‘the blockers’ and drive growth. They want to take power from elected councillors and give it to developers.”

Tim Rickard, joint coordinator of the Forest of Dean Green Party, pointed out that the Government’s proposals face opposition even from inside the Labour Party. The belief that they were about “destroying local democracy” and imposing “nothing short of a dictatorship” was among the issues that led to 20 councillors at Broxtowe borough council in Nottinghamshire resigning from Labour to form a new Independent group.

He said: “The local elections in May must go ahead so that voters can choose who represents them as these massive changes go through. Instead of colluding with the Labour government to scrap the elections, the Conservative County Council must allow voters to exercise their fundamental democratic rights.”

The county’s Green leaders will be writing to their MPs to ask them to ensure May’s elections go ahead as planned.  Greens believe in bottom-up politics, informed by those directly involved, and will do their utmost to protect our communities and local democracy through this process.

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