The government has still not made a decision on Stroud District Council’s application (known as a Strategic Outline Business Case) to reopen the station, which was submitted in September 2022.

The Department for Transport had promised a decision by the end of last year, and local campaigners have been very frustrated about the subsequent lack of action.

Cllr Braun, Leader of Stroud District Council, said: “We are pleased that the minister finally made good on his promises to visit Stonehouse to talk to campaigners and it was helpful to discuss the business case for the Stonehouse Bristol Road station with him, and the wider context of strategic planning for the district. Now all we need is a yes or no decision on whether the Conservative government is willing to fund the next stage of the work to develop this vital transport link.”

Cllr Turner, who chairs the stakeholder group, said: “After many years of campaigning by Stonehouse Town Council and others, we gained £50,000 from the Restoring our Railways fund to pay for the initial application. The Strategic Outline Business Case was duly submitted and since then there has been silence, despite a Green peer asking questions about this in Parliament. 

“There are a series of tests to pass in the reopening of a station, and we want to know – on behalf of everyone in Stroud District – if the government can now support us in moving to the next stage of review, or if not, what further information they need from us and our partners in the rail industry. We also want assurances that a decision is going to be made before the General Election; and we want a realistic timetable for the station being reopened.”

Cllr Kambites, who is Mayor of Stonehouse and who has been involved with the campaign for more than 10 years, said: “We asked for this visit for two reasons: to put our case to the minister, and to ask whether the government has made a decision and, if not, when they will make it. I also want to explore alternative ways forward if the Restoring Your Railways scheme won’t fund the reopening of the station.”

She added: “We were very disappointed that the minister still hadn’t decided whether we could proceed to the next stage. The re-opening of Bristol Road station would have so many advantages for Stonehouse and the Stroud valleys. We really can’t put it off any longer. Not only would it support the local economy, but it would also improve the quality of life of local people and, perhaps most importantly, would reduce the negative environmental effects of travelling to Bristol and the south-west.”

Pictured, from left to right: Carol Kambites, Catherine Braun, Chloe Turner.

The post Green councillors meet rail minister and demand answers over Bristol Road station appeared first on Stroud District Green Party.

There will be Greens standing in all 51 council seats in each of the 27 district wards. 53% of the candidates are women; 47% are men.

The party aims to become the majority group and retain its leadership of the council after May 2.

With 14 councillors currently, the Greens have been part of the ruling alliance on the council since 2012 and have led the alliance since 2022.

The manifesto is a vision of positive change for communities, the shared environment, and local economy. It builds on the 13 years that Green councillors have been part of running the Council and working to serve the whole of the Stroud District.

The manifesto contains five key points, which are summarised below. Full details can be seen here:

Stroud District Greens are running a Crowdfunder campaign towards funding of election newsletters to help make their manifesto ambitions become reality. The campaign has already raised more than 80% of its target.

Unlike other parties, the Greens are not claiming to be able to achieve goals not under the district council’s control, such as road improvements, health service improvements and high-speed broadband. All the ambitions in the manifesto are achievable if the council remains Green led.

1. Warm and affordable homes

Stroud District Council has one of the largest council housing stocks in Gloucestershire. Our plans include building more council homes to the highest standards, ensuring that as many new homes as possible are affordable and requiring developers to meet high energy efficiency standards.

2. A clean and green district

Stroud District Council was the first council in Europe to be carbon neutral. We will continue to put social justice, nature, biodiversity and the climate crisis at the heart of everything we do, increasing reuse and recycling, increasing use of renewable energy sources, continuing to reduce flood risk and work for affordable and healthy sustainable transport

3. Thriving market towns and villages

We aim to transform our towns and create thriving destinations, by championing local businesses, promoting local attractions and events and improving public spaces.

4. Public services that work

Despite over a decade of Conservative cuts, the Council has kept a healthy bank balance while running leisure and community services well. We will bring Stratford Park leisure centre under council control so it can be run to the same high standards as The Pulse in Dursley; invest more into community hubs and make sure the least well off pay no Council Tax, put more money into play areas and continue to support the Neighbourhood Warden Scheme to respond quickly to anti-social behaviour and other issues.

5. Restoring trust in politics

Despite frequent political scandals in the other parties nationally, local Greens are showing there is a positive, progressive, and professional way to do politics. We will work collaboratively with other parties on Stroud District Council, as we have done for the past 13 years, make the best decisions for our communities, and include residents in important decision-making.

A list of all Green candidates by ward is below, listed by ward, in alphabetical order of wards. We are standing a candidate for every seat. Where only one name is given, the ward is a one-seat ward. Some of the candidates are shown in the picture, taken for us by local photographer Martin Phelps.

Stroud District Greens candidates for Stroud District Council, May 2024

Amberley & Woodchester: Sarah Canning

Berkeley Vale: Martyn Cutcher, Susie Medley, Bob Hilliard

Bisley: Martin Brown

Cainscross: Gavin McClafferty, Alan Mossman, Kate Crews

Cam East: Steven Naumann, Anna Bonallack

Cam West: Sally Pickering, Ben Bywater

Chalford: Tricia Watson, Helen Fenton, James Boyle

Coaley & Uley: Martin Pearcy

Dursley: Danae Savvidou, James Broady, Tom Meadowcroft

Minchinhampton: Chloe Turner, Gill Thomas

Hardwicke:  Adrian Oldman, John Patient, John Robinthwaite

Kingswood: Hannah Lyons Tsai

Nailsworth: Kate Kay, Rod Nelson, Rosie Thresher

Painswick & Upton: Gary Luff, Matthew Sargeant, Pete Kennedy

Stroud Central: Cate James-Hodges

Stroud Farmhill & Paganhill: Val Saunders

Stroud Slade: Natalie Rothwell-Warn

Stroud Trinity: Lucas Schoemaker

Stroud Uplands: Sarah Dixon

Stroud Valley: Martin Baxendale

Thrupp: Beki Aldam

Randwick, Whiteshill & Ruscombe: Jonathan Edmunds

Rodborough: Phil Blomberg, Liz Hillary

Severn: Moya Shannon, Isa Clee

Stanleys (The): Steve Hynd, Marisa Godfrey

Stonehouse: Carol Kambites, Madelaine Maraboli-Roman, Rachel Smith

Wotton: Catherine Braun, Gareth Kitchen, Eleanor Meehan

The post Stroud Greens publish District Council election manifesto and name candidates for all 51 seats appeared first on Stroud District Green Party.

The Green Party has announced its ambitions for the Stroud District Council elections in May.

With 14 councillors currently, the Greens have been part of the ruling alliance on the council since 2012 and have led the alliance since 2022.

The party aims to build on its success by fielding candidates for all 51 council seats in each of the 27 district wards, with the aim of becoming the majority party and retaining its leadership of the council after May 2.

“By working cooperatively with our Independent and Lib Dem colleagues we have kept the Conservatives out of power for over a decade, ensuring that local council services are maintained and improved, and that there is support for our market towns and rural villages,” said Council Leader Cllr Catherine Braun.

“These years of being in power in Stroud have given us a huge breadth of experience in local government, and shown the Greens to be knowledgeable, collaborative and financially responsible.

“Our existing team of councillors work hard, all year round, in their wards to instigate positive change in the district and they bring to the council chamber real insight into the issues affecting their communities. A recent independent poll showed Green-led Stroud District Council has one of the best approval ratings in the country.

“Our experienced existing councillors are now joined by a strong, enthusiastic team of new candidates, who are embedded in their communities, involved with local organisations and campaigns, and committed to the Green ethos of social and environmental justice.

“Continued Green leadership of the District Council will enable the council to continue with its priorities of warm, affordable homes for all, a cleaner, greener district, support for residents’ health and wellbeing, and working in partnership to promote local business.   

“In the local elections on May 2 we urge voters to ignore the very different national political situation and vote Green, for collaborative politics and a bright future for Stroud district.”

Pictured: some of our candidates at Coaley Peak on Saturday before going canvassing and delivering leaflets.

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That’s according to Pete Kennedy, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Stroud, who claims that the proposals – along with urgently needed accessibility improvements to Stroud’s railway station – have been “kicked into the long grass”.

A decision on the future of Stroudwater Station had been expected “by the end of 2023“, with Stroud’s Conservative MP, Siobhan Baillie, claiming the decision was “on the Minister’s desk” ready to be confirmed.

But when Ms Baillie asked the Minister for an update last month, the Minister replied only that he would visit the Constituency “to discuss” – which Pete (pictured) says is “a significant backtracking”. 

Suspecting no decision was imminent, Pete asked Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb, one of the Green Party’s members of the House of Lords, to raise the issue in Parliament. 

Baroness Jones asked the Government “when they will announce their decision on the Strategic Outline Business Case ‘Restoring Your Railway Stroudwater Station’ submitted in September 2022; why that decision has not yet been made; and what is the intended purpose of the planned Ministerial visit to Stroudwater Station.”

The government Minister, Lord Davies of Gower, confirmed that the Strategic Outline Business Case had been received, but added: “The Department [for Transport] is not yet in a position to provide details on next steps for the scheme, but hopes to be able to do so in due course. Ministers conduct visits for a wide range of reasons, including to help them appreciate local issues in person.”

Responding to the Minister’s answer, Pete Kennedy said: “The government has now admitted that they aren’t announcing next steps for the scheme any time soon; they only ‘hope to be able to do so in due course’. What a change from last year, when we were repeatedly told the ‘decision is on the Minister’s desk’ to be agreed ‘by the end of 2023’! It is also revealing that Siobhan Baillie’s latest spin is that at least she tried, and none of Stroud’s previous MPs were able to succeed either.

“There are billions of pounds of potential railway upgrades waiting for funding around the country. If these were going ahead this year, the Chancellor’s Budget would surely have confirmed the funding. With no money allocated and no decision in sight, I can’t see how there will be any progress on the important railway upgrades in Stroud and Stonehouse before the General Election.

“I worry that the Conservatives have kicked Stroudwater station into the long grass and are just sending a Minister for a photo-opportunity so that Ms Baillie can keep ‘campaigning’ on the issue until the election.”

He added: “We need this investment urgently – the direct connection to Bristol will bring so many opportunities to families and businesses in Stroud, Stonehouse and surrounding areas.” 

The post Local rail upgrades unlikely to get go-ahead before General Election, say Greens after nothing in Budget appeared first on Stroud District Green Party.

Why are the May local council elections so crucial for Greens?

What happens when voters decide to vote for the alternative to the two main parties and elect Greens to represent and serve them on local authorities?

And what can the future hold when Greens are in power on councils?

These are questions that will be addressed at our next Cloud Café online debate, on Wednesday March 13 from 7.30 to 9pm.

The speakers are:

Chris Jarvis

Since being elected to Oxford City Council in 2021, Chris has led the Green Group on the council, during which time they have secured major successes including: rolling out free period products in community centres, greater protections for biodiversity in planning, a pioneering policy on trans inclusion, and improvements in active travel infrastructure.

Chris is also the editor of Bright Green, an online publication focusing on Green politics, social movements and the labour movement. 

Chloe Turner

Chloe represents Minchinhampton at Stroud District Council, where she chairs the Environment Committee, and at Gloucestershire County Council, where she chairs the Environment Scrutiny Committee.

She is also the Green Party parliamentary candidate for the North Cotswolds constituency. In her spare time, she plays the trombone in Stroud Red Band and writes fiction.

Pete Kennedy

Pete Kennedy is Stroud’s Green Party candidate to fight the next general election, and is standing in May for election to Stroud District Council. Pete has worked for the Green Party for more than five years in a variety of roles.

Working in Parliament, Pete advises the Green Party on legislation and procedure and has been involved in some of the biggest fights against the Government’s legislation like the Police and Crime Bill.

Here in Stroud, Pete is an adviser to the 14-strong Green Group of councillors on Stroud District Council. A qualified barrister, Pete also has experience of the community and public sectors, having worked for a mental health charity and as a warm homes officer for a local authority. 

Cloud Café organiser Elizabeth Lee says: “The planet is on fire and mainstream politicians continue to play party politics: winning the next election is their only prize and they pay little attention paid to the health of our environment, our communities, our children and our planet. Nationally in the UK, the two biggest parties trade sound bites hoping to set themselves apart and appeal to voters while, at the same time, setting out policies that are increasingly identical.

“If the two largest parties will not offer meaningful solutions to the problems we face on a national level, can we expect them to do any differently in local government?”

Following the speakers there will be an opportunity for discussion and debate with the audience.

Everyone is welcome. To register, go to: https://actionnetwork.org/events/doing-politics-differently

If you can’t watch on the night, register anyway and you will be sent a link to the recording to watch another time.

The post What May’s local elections mean for Greens: online debate appeared first on Stroud District Green Party.

The Green group on Stroud District Council has welcomed a new member, as Cllr Helen Fenton has joined the Greens.

Helen was elected in 2021 as one of 15 Labour councillors, but has been part an independent group since September 2022.

The defection means that the Green Party now has 14 seats on Stroud District Council and will continue to lead the administration, as the largest party in the cooperative alliance with the Independent Left, Community Independents and Liberal Democrats groups.

Labour now has only four councillors on the council after interference by the national and regional Labour Party, its decision to block Cllr Doina Cornell from standing as Labour’s MP candidate, and political disagreements with Keir Starmer.

From 2012 to 2022, the Greens, Labour and Liberal Democrats had worked together to run Stroud District Council. Helen said that she had no option but to leave Labour in 2022, when the Labour councillors were ordered by the Labour Party to stop working with the Greens, which risked letting the Conservatives take control of the council. Only six Labour councillors followed the orders, and another two have since quit the Labour Party. 

Helen said: “In the 2021 council elections, the Labour Party councillors were elected to continue working in the successful cooperative alliance alongside the Greens and Lib Dems that had led the council for a decade. Just over a year later, Keir Starmer’s Labour Party demanded that Stroud’s Labour councillors stop working with the Greens or face disciplinary action. The Labour Party didn’t care about our communities, or that this was likely to hand over control to the Conservatives; they just wanted to stop the Greens from leading the council. I had no option but to leave the Labour Party to do what was right for the people who elected me.” 

Helen will continue in her current role as Vice-chair of the Development Control Committee, working alongside the Chair, Martin Baxendale, who is also from the Greens. Helen’s switch to the Greens means that all three district councillors in Chalford ward are now Green, as is Cllr Chloe Turner, whose Gloucestershire County Council ward includes Chalford. Helen will stand for the Greens in the local election on Thursday May 2.

Cllr Catherine Braun, Leader of Stroud District Council and Leader of the Green group of councillors, said: “We are delighted to have Helen join our group. She is an active and involved ward councillor who is committed to the Green Party ethos of care for social and environmental justice. Helen joins the Greens at such an important time, with the Greens being the best option to stop the Tories from taking over the council in May’s elections.

“The Greens, with 14 councillors already, have a very good chance of becoming the largest group on the council in May; feedback from talking to residents on the doorstep tells us that we are likely to take votes from traditional Conservative voters who are disillusioned with the way the Conservative Party nationally has abandoned any pretence of environmental protection and social justice. We are also likely to take votes from Labour voters who understand that the collapse of the Labour group makes it unlikely that Labour can recover its position as a political force in Stroud.”

Helen works as a psychotherapist and counsellor and is a life-long socialist, feminist and environmentalist. As a student, Helen was a Green Party member and was the first Green to be elected to the national executive committee of the National Union of Students. 

Helen said: “As a Green Party councillor I will be guided by the party’s core values: integrity, compassion, connection, and creating greener, fairer communities. I will work towards improving health and quality of life, reducing the impact of inequalities, encouraging community engagement, supporting the most vulnerable and – of course – protecting the natural environment.”

Outside politics, Helen’s interests include cycling and dancing Argentine Tango. She co-founded the women’s cycling network Stroud Spinderellas and created the group Tango In Chalford, which offers social dance classes in the village.

Pictured: Helen with fellow Chalford ward Green councillors Chris Jockel and Tricia Watson.

The political breakdown of councillors on Stroud District Council, by political grouping, is now as follows:

Conservative – 18

Green – 14 

Independent Left – 4

Community Independents – 4 

Labour – 4

Liberal Democrats – 3

Independent – 2

Conservative No Group – 1

There is 1 vacancy in Nailsworth, following the death of Green councillor Norman Kay. 

The post Ex-Labour councillor on Stroud District Council joins Green Party appeared first on Stroud District Green Party.

The funding comes as the result of amendments proposed by the council’s Green group when the council met to set the annual budget for the financial year starting in April. 

Natural Flood Management projects, which use natural processes to address flooding risk on roads and residential areas, create additional habitat for nature, along with attractive green surroundings for communities, will now receive £300,000 of funding.  

A further £100,000 originating via a motion put forward by Green group leader Cllr Cate Cody (Tewkesbury) will fund free bus passes for veterans seeking to return to work. And community libraries across the county will receive £2,000 each (a total of £16,000) to bridge the gap until their funding – which has remained static since they were established over a decade ago – is reviewed later this year.  

Cllr Chloe Turner (Green, Minchinhampton) said: “The flood management projects around the county are hugely positive and popular projects, and recent heavy rainfall has shown how vital such schemes are to protect Gloucestershire’s residents from the effects of flooding. 

“We were especially pleased that the Conservative administration chose to partner with us on the bus passes and libraries amendments – and that they have themselves added £2million to the budget to start installing solar panels on the council’s schools. This is something I have been urging them to do for some time – as it’s an opportunity to cut costs and reduce emissions across the county’s schools.” 

Other political groups gained funding for extra items including youth services, Public Rights of Way and rain gardens. 

The extra funding for the flood projects, bus passes and libraries brings to nearly £1million the amount of money won by the Green group for vital help for communities since the 2021 election. “This shows what councils can accomplish when there are Greens in the room to press for funding to help communities and the environment,” said Cllr Cody. 

Pictured: The Green group of councillors, left to right: Cate Cody (Tewkesbury), Chloe Turner (Minchinhampton), Beki Hoyland (Forest of Dean: Blakeney and Bream) and Chris McFarling (Forest of Dean: Sedbury).

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Can the media be trusted to report honestly on climate change? That was the question posed this week at our latest Cloud Café online debate. And the answer, according to guest speaker Dr Jonathan Fuller, is a definite no.

Jon, founder of Climate Genocide Act Now, said crucial information about the existential threat presented by climate breakdown is being routinely withheld by the media.

Billions of people are already vulnerable to climate change, with rising temperatures, disease, sea level rises and worsening storms already happening and several low-lying island states expected to disappear into the sea within 25 years. The Gulf Stream is likely to shut down and temperatures could dip to minus 20°C or rise abruptly and severely, leaving countries unable to feed themselves. And the UK government hasn’t done anything to adapt, still allowing developers to build on floodplains and ignoring that the country doesn’t have enough water to survive a drought.

Yet few media outlets report the frightening trends and some actively encourage readers to oppose, abuse and even assault climate campaigners, while lobbying the government to slow the rate of action on climate change.

Calling continued investment in fossil fuels “the ultimate crime against humanity… technically genocide in international criminal law”, Jon said that the media are complicit in this by “inciting” the government to continue its policies.

He singled out the Guardian and Observer as being better than others at reporting climate news. Among the worst are the Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, the Daily Star, the Express, and the Sun, which portray activists as “upper-class toffs, eco fanatics”.

The media, said Jon, promote fracking and the expansion of fossil fuel industries, lobby to get rid of net zero targets, and deny the benefits of insulation, heat pumps and onshore wind, low traffic neighbourhoods, bus lanes, and low-emission zones.

“There’s a relentless stream of misinformation and disinformation,” he commented. “They campaign to maintain lifestyles that they know will kill people. They’re engaged in warfare, attacks on democracy and on people, particularly the young and those in the global south. Sometimes you just despair and wonder how can people be so cruel.”

Among the lies are false claims that the cost of decarbonising will cost households thousands of pounds each year. And climate change deniers like Nigel Farage are given coverage while knowledgeable people like the UN Secretary General are not given comparable opportunities to put their case.

Part of the reason for the media ignoring the emergency is that they fear losing readers if they report upsetting news. A more sinister reason is the “crystal clear” link between the media owners and the fossil fuel industry; for example the Murdochs – owners of the Times and the Sun – have financial interests in oil and gas companies while the company that owns the Telegraph’s debt is a fossil fuel lobbyist.

“For newspaper owners there will be a day of reckoning,” warned Jon. “The young will one day be in charge and they’ll be the judges, the police, the prosecutors. They will want to know why media organisations knew [the truth] and carried on [lying].”

Among broadcasters, the BBC covers some aspects of climate change but is reluctant to broadcast the most alarming scenarios, said Jon. Even outlets sometimes thought to be reliable, like Channel 4, still report on the benefits of airport expansion while ignoring the deaths being caused by climate change.

“It doesn’t get into the public consciousness… the vast majority are not aware of the threat,” said Jon. “The press has a duty to tell people the scenarios are real and dangerous. But suppression of facts is everywhere you look. The truth is being withheld.”

Neither does the media report on the attempts being made by CGAN to prosecute the UK government for inciting genocide. Instead, protesters are being prosecuted. “The media have stolen from the young what they need to defend themselves – information,” said Jon.

Children are told a certain amount at school about climate change, he added. They’re told about some of the impacts; they know that polar bears are affected, for example. But they don’t hear about the effect on UK agriculture or the failed rains in Africa. They don’t know that extreme rainfall here will overwhelm the critical infrastructure that keeps them alive.”

He said the situation was inflicting “terror” on young people, with the result that many of them have decided not to have children.

Campaigners need to counter the deliberate campaign of suppression by the press by disseminating their own news, through newsletters and social media, he said. “We’ve done everything we can to get the media to tell the truth. But the right-wing press won’t change, so we have to get our own information out. We have to talk about genocide, annihilation, use language that good people will find uncomfortable but we owe it to the victims to use it. And we need to emphasise the positives [of taking action]: affordable homes, energy security, food supply security, employment, how we would deploy technology to insulate homes.. a dynamic vision and policies to give people quality lives.”

The Green Party has the right policies to save the young and give them hope, added Jon. “We can take that terror away from them. We can survive this.”

Watch the full talk below.

The post Media ‘lies relentlessly’ to hide truth about climate change, says CGAN founder appeared first on Stroud District Green Party.

The leaders of the progressive alliance running Stroud District Council are delighted that government inspectors have agreed to their request to pause the examination of the draft Local Plan – which sets out where future housing development should take place.

The examination process will be paused until December 5. This allows seven months to resolve road- and transport-related issues with the relevant authorities, and a further three months for public consultation.

Planning Inspectors raised concerns on August 4 last year about three aspects of the draft Plan: the capacity of M5 Junctions 12 and 14; the viability of the proposed pedestrian and cycle bridge over the motorway at Wisloe; and the viability of public transport options at Sharpness.

On August 29, the Council asked for a pause in the examination process to allow time to resolve these issues, and following further correspondence, the inspectors have now granted this pause.

Council Leader Cllr Catherine Braun, Leader of the Green group, said this week: “We are very pleased that our request has been granted by the Inspectors. They know that we are committed to resolving any outstanding issues with this draft Local Plan, so that it can be adopted, to provide protection to our local communities from speculative development. Local residents look to us to control the location and quality of new housing and economic development sites, and to ensure that new homes are built for people, not profit.”

Conservative councillors on Stroud District Council in January called for the Plan to be withdrawn completely. This option would have been “disastrous”, say Alliance leaders.

Cllr Natalie Bennett, Deputy Leader of the Council and Leader of the Independent Left group, said: “Withdrawing the draft Plan would have left Stroud district without a local plan for years, allowing developers to play the planning system and guaranteeing approval of speculative housing developments on appeal, without the required infrastructure, and with lower building and environmental standards.” 

At a national level, the Government now requires all local authorities to work towards having up to date local plans in place and has recently blocked four councils from trying to withdraw their local plans from the inspection process.

Cllr Robin Layfield, Leader of the Community Independents group, added: “I very much welcome this helpful response from the inspectors and the support that they have shown for our efforts so far. It’s now time that the Conservative opposition got behind the Local Plan and worked constructively to see it through instead of shouting from the sidelines and attempting to make political mischief in an election year.”

In their letter the inspectors say they decided to agree to a pause after corresponding with Stroud District Council, National Highways, Gloucestershire County Council and South Gloucestershire Council. They say: “We are keen to continue to work proactively with Stroud District Council throughout the duration of this Examination.”

Cllr Ken Tucker, Leader of the Liberal Democrat group, added: “We will not sit back and see our communities short-changed by developers, which would be the direct result of withdrawing the Local Plan as the Conservatives requested. Thanks to this pause in the examination process, we can now work to resolve the final issues and lock in the strong community and environmental protections that are built into our Plan.”

For background information, click here:

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The Green Party has selected Cllr Chloe Turner as its Parliamentary Candidate to stand for the new North Cotswolds constituency.

Cllr Turner represents Minchinhampton on both Stroud District Council and Gloucestershire County Council.

Boundary changes have created the new North Cotswolds constituency, which incorporates a wide ribbon of villages and small towns previously unconnected by political boundaries. Parts of three district council areas are included within the new constituency: Stroud, where the Greens lead the council as part of a progressive alliance; Cotswold, where the Green vote is growing, and Tewkesbury, where the Greens increased their number of Borough Councillors by 300% at the last election.

Commenting on the new North Cotswolds constituency, Chloe said: “After years of Conservative apathy, I believe there is appetite among voters for a hardworking MP who is equally comfortable rolling up her sleeves to sort recycling at a community event, scrutinising Audit Committee papers, pressing for better local public services and warm and affordable homes, and campaigning for clean waterways.

“Though parts of the constituency might seem to have little in common apart from the outstanding natural landscape, there are shared challenges, including depleted public services (transport, social housing, NHS and dental facilities, youth services), the impact of tourism and the difficulty of rural decarbonisation. The emergence of foodbanks across the constituency shows that cost of living pressures are affecting all communities, including those generally considered wealthy.

“I’m sure it’s no coincidence that after thirteen years of rural neglect, the Conservatives are in opposition in all three local authorities covered by the constituency. This, and the widespread disenchantment with the Tory government among many moderate Tory voters, means that the Conservatives cannot be complacent about winning this seat, as they have been in the former Cotswold constituency.

“As MP, I will be a voice for nature and a champion for local issues, including tackling the decline in rural public services and the cost-of-living pressures facing so many residents.”

Chloe added: “I absolutely love where I live. I am well-known for working extremely hard to protect our local environment, standing up for better local services and campaigning for national policies that work better for people and planet.

“Importantly, as a Green I do not have to follow a party whip so will be free to represent the concerns of residents. I will be an independent, principled MP who will work collaboratively with others, who will never be afraid to offer constructive scrutiny and to hold those in government to account.

“This year, there is a real opportunity for genuine change in the Cotswolds, for the first time in decades. It’s an exciting chance to restore trust in politics and I’m ready to be at the heart of it.”

A qualified chartered accountant by background, though local politics is now her full-time work, Chloe lives with her husband and three children in Minchinhampton, within the North Cotswolds constituency.

She is involved in numerous local groups and campaigns, including the Minchinhampton Multi-Agency Youth panel, local community events organisation Minch Life, Stroud District Action on Plastic, and the Stroud Universal Basic Income Lab, which she co-founded.

Her interests outside politics include beekeeping and writing fiction.

Chloe’s roles at Gloucestershire County Council include:

Chair of Environment Scrutiny Committee;

Active member of the Audit & Governance, Overview & Scrutiny and Pensions Committees;

Member of Rural Estate task group, which reviewed the sustainability of the council’s 7,000-acre farm estate.

Chloe’s roles at Stroud District Council include:

Chair of the Environment Committee;

Member of the Strategy & Resources Committee;

Chair of Strategic Planning Advisory Board and the stakeholder group for SDC’s Natural Flood Management work.

Council representative on the Minchinhampton & Rodborough Commons Advisory Board;

Member of Climate Leadership Gloucestershire, which brings together seven councils, Police, NHS and Local Nature Partnership to consider how to mitigate and adapt to climate change in Gloucestershire. 

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