The leaders of the Green Parties of England, Wales and Scotland, the SNP and Plaid Cymru met last week (wc 15th Dec) to discuss an electoral pact to fight against austerity, tax avoidance, free market excess and nuclear weapons.
Chris Jockel (Stroud Green Party Prospective MP) commented:
“Our shared social democratic heritage was cradled in Wales and Scotland as much as it was in England and so it is fitting that we are defending it now together against the barely distinguishable parties of the Westminster establishment.
Even in the context of the crude first-past-the-post voting system, the logic and integrity of tactical voting is deeply flawed in so many ways already… but the forming of a new broad alliance against needless, misdirected and cruel austerity; corporate tax avoidance; free market madness and the expensive abomination of nuclear weapons may be a voting game changer.
This new red, green and blue block could, if the people wanted it to, hold the balance of power and force the Westminster establishment to change course on these fundamental long term issues.
Therefore the real choice the people of the Stroud District have next May is either: to mark ourselves out as a beacon of social and environmental justice and real change by voting Green and acting with this new alignment of parties to stop the madness now…or being a bit part in a phony race between the policies of more or a little less austerity…more or a bit less acquiescence and collusion with corporate power or greater or marginally less fear.”
Chris Jockel during filming of a series of new election campaign short films