At a Cherwell District Council meeting on 22nd July, the Green Party's recently elected councillor, Ian Middleton, spoke to two important motions. The first was a climate change emergency motion, which Cllr Middleton supported, although expressing reservations about the council’s true commitment to the difficult decisions that will need to be taken if the district is to become truly carbon neutral by 2030.

That motion was passed unanimously, but then as if to prove Ian's point, the council went on to debate a motion that he himself had brought, calling for a rethink on plans to build on the green belt in south Cherwell. That motion asked for a temporary pause to allow for new evidence to be taken into account that casts doubt on the number of houses needed to support Oxford’s unmet need. When the motion was defeated, Cllr Middleton said "It’s clear that neither Labour nor the Conservatives are prepared to take the difficult decisions that are needed to combat the climate emergency."

The council might not have been persuaded to pause in its plans for massive overdevelopment, but the motion attracted much support locally and was well reported in the Oxford Mail: see https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/17793885.cherwell-council-pushes-ahead-local-plan-build-green-belt/?ref=twtrec. And Cherwell District Councillors have shown themselves oblivious to the need for the change of direction that combating climate change demands.

During a council meeting of the South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) on 18 July 2019, two important motions were accepted, which were tabled by Green Party councillors Robin Bennett and Jo Robb respectively. The council accepted with considerable cross party backing to:

• Oppose the Oxford – Cambridge Expressway project in all its forms including expansion of existing or new roads in South Oxfordshire and to update all council documents, reflecting this new position. The council will communicate its opposition to national government, MPs and Highways England.
• Call on the Oxfordshire Pension Fund to divest from non-renewable energy companies whose main purpose is the exploration and/or extraction of fossil fuels. The council will ask the Oxfordshire Pension Fund to acknowledge that shareholder engagement has failed to bring about the pace of change required to limit catastrophic global warming.

We congratulate all the Green Party councillors in South Oxfordshire having proposed and successfully passed these two important motions and hope this will inspire other district councils in Oxfordshire. 

The results have been declared for the South East region. The Green Party won 13.5% of the vote and elected one MEP, Alexandra Phillips.

Witney North Action Day

The Witney North by-election for Witney North town council is happening on Thursday 29^th August.

If you can help Brigitte Hickman - longtime green campaigner and wonderful local person - then please do!

A by-election on August 29^th means we have a chance to get a second Green elected to Witney Town Council. Witney North is our  target ward for the District Council elections next May, so it is really important that we strengthen our base. 

Brigitte Hickman, a former teacher and a founder and director of the Windrush Bike Project, has campaigned actively on many local issues in the 25 years that she has lived in the ward. When elected, she will become the second Green Party town councillor in Witney, joining Andrew Prosser, who was elected in May with the largest share of the vote.

The main action day is Saturday 24th August - but if you can help another time to get in touch. Sign up for one or more shifts below or contact Frances Mortimer to let her know when you can help.

Action Day: Saturday 24 August.

10am: arrival, planning and brief training

10.30-12.30: door knocking in pairs

12.30-1.15: lunch (we will provide a vegetarian lunch)

1.15-1.45: brief presentation on polling day action, and looking further ahead in the Target to win campaign

1.45 - 3.45: more door-knocking in pairs

3.45-4pm: debrief

Cowley Ward Action Day

Election Day