Progressive Alliance in Action!

Green Party candidate stands aside to help defeat the Tories in Oxford West and Abingdon

The Green Party candidate for the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency, Cheryl Briggs, has announced that she will not be contesting the seat in the forthcoming General Election. The decision to stand aside was taken by local members following a special meeting in the constituency, and was supported overwhelmingly. The Green Party will now be telling supporters that the main aim is to try and prevent a Conservative victory in Oxford West and Abingdon, and Layla Moran of the Liberal Democrats is the candidate who stands most chance of defeating the Conservative candidate Nicola Blackwood.

“I’m a Green Party member to the core, but we need to be prepared to put the greater good before our own political self-interest here,” said Cheryl. “As it is a marginal constituency, the party is prepared to support the progressive party that has the best chance of beating the Conservatives.”

The decision follows discussions between senior members of the local Liberal Democrats and the Greens. Layla Moran also was closely questioned at the meeting of local Green Party members. An important factor was the assurances of support to promote several policy areas important to Greens, including:

• opposition to further privatisation of public services and the NHS
• opposition to fracking
• support for LGBTIQA+ rights
• support for voting reform (proportional representation)

The Chair of Oxfordshire Green Party, Sarah Wood, said, “As things currently stand, the UK is set to be ravaged by five more years of Tory government. Yet the fact is that, under our electoral system, the Tories will win many seats, where a majority of the voters in the constituency do not support them. Our political system is broken, and it makes no sense that parties with many common values stand against each other and let the Tories through.”

Sarah added that the Labour Party in Oxford West and Abingdon should consider withdrawing their candidate as well, to maximise the chances of ousting the Tories. “Meetings supporting a ‘Progressive Alliance’ in Oxford recently have shown the appetite amongst the wider population for parties to come together in this way. We know standing aside is a major step for parties to take. But given the damage that an unconstrained Conservative government can do, we would hope that they can be brave enough to put the national interest above narrow party politics this time.”