I have lived in east Oxford for over 40 years and my daughter attended local schools. I was for many years a mental health worker with Oxfordshire Mind in Cowley, and I have also been a counsellor. Now I volunteer with Asylum Welcome.

I have been an active member of Keep our NHS Public, fighting creeping privatisation under both Conservative and Labour governments.

I would like to see bus passes available for everyone so that bus travel could be really attractive and efficient for all, and this could seriously reduce traffic.

During the pandemic, like many others, I became more involved in our local communities, and our local built and natural surroundings.

I joined the Green Party over 20 years ago because of its defence of the environment, commitment to public services, and passion for social justice.

Elect Janet to:

1. Protect green spaces and biodiversity.
2. campaign for more affordable housing.
3. Promote connectivity and fairer transport for all Oxford residents.

Green councillors are making a difference across Oxford.

It's a choice between Green and Labour in Hinksey Park.

Hinksey Park city council election 2021

Party votes (excluding independents)

No independent this year.

Second batch of county council candidates selected

Posted by David Newman · February 07, 2025 4:46 PM · 1 reaction

Elections Report Nov. 2024

Posted by David Newman · November 14, 2024 5:31 PM · 1 reaction

First 2025 county council candidates selected

Posted by David Newman · October 14, 2024 10:41 AM · 1 reaction

Biography

I moved to Oxford two decades ago with my job working for an international NGO. My children grew up in Oxford and it's now very much our family hometown.

I am a social scientist, trained in social justice. My professional background includes working in international development, poverty alleviation, community development, human rights law, and gender women and development.
I do free lance academic research on Indigenous land rights and Indigenous conservation. I am also a capacity building consultant for civil society strengthening.

The Green Party values align with my professional values, and with my personal commitment to the community. Because of this, I have been a long time supporter of the Green Party.

Why I want to stand

I want to stand for election for the Green Party because it is the only party whose values and ideology I support, and I want to take a more active role:

1. The bigger picture: The UK needs a new direction. I think we are facing a severe failure of governance. The covid response was badly bungled leaving us with one of the highest rates of infections and mortality in the world, the country is facing food shortages, fuel shortages, a shortage of labour in agriculture, health care, education; the fishing industry is struggling, many car manufacturers have folded, EU citizens are being overtly discriminated against by the government, asylum seekers are facing cruelty... again by the government..in violation of international treaty agreements; the human rights legal norms are being threatened by the government; the NHS, one of the most strongest and most sane welfare mechanisms in the whole world is being consistently dismantled by the current government; the UK is one of the biggest money laundering tax havens and corruption at the highest levels remains unaccountable. It is like a country at war with shortages and high food prices and falling pound sterling. It's frightening that this economic political chaos is self imposed by the government's commitment to destructive policies such as Brexit and reinforcing inequality.
   
   Though the UK government has committed to the international green agenda, in actuality it falls far behind its promises. This is very concerning. The earth is heating up relentlessly. We can't sit around and watch the flooding, and fires, and glacial melts.
   
   
2. Oxford: The nation wide inequalities are mirrored in Oxford, which is a relatively wealthy city but has the second highest rate of rough sleeper deaths in England, and is the second most unaffordable city in the UK. The council is building housing on the green belt, and we have a water shortage looming. The council is failing to take concrete action on climate change, though it talks about it. We need a more equal, fairer, and greener Oxford.
   
   Local government can be a momentous force for good when used in the right way. I think the Greens have the right policies, ideas, and vision, with which the local councils can transform people's lives.
   
   
3. Alternative Green vision: The Green Party can change this direction if we build a consensus with other parties and a broad-based intersecting movement that sets out a progressive vision for holistic change. I feel the Green Party is the only one which is responding to these urgent needs. The youth are turning to the Green Party. The youth are concerned with ecological health and safety because they are inheriting the mess earlier generations created. They are also committed to peace and economic unity of the sort the EU offers.

I think the Green Party offers us all this hope that we can create the much needed change. And I would like to play my part and contribute actively to the Green party vision for an alternative which would turn the current political tide in the UK.

We are now inviting further applications for candidates to win in the May 2021 elections. Apply by Saturday 21 November.

There will be online hustings on Sunday 29 November at 1730-1830 to select candidates in target areas who will campaign hard to be elected in May.

We need more Green councillors in Oxfordshire

Could you follow in the footsteps of our Green Party councillors, and stand for election? You could improve the quality of our councils by representing the people and views that the governing parties ignore.

Or you could help organise events and campaigns in your ward. Could you get local people to come out and join the campaign?

In May 2023 there will be all out elections in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse, and 1/3 of the wards in Cherwell and West Oxfordshire district councils. Then in May 2024 Oxford City goes to the polls.

We need candidates to start right now, preparing for the elections in 2023 and 2024. Voters like to vote for people they have heard from over time, rather than those who just turn up in the last few weeks.

From time to time we arrange meet a Green councillors sessions, where you can find out what Green county, district, town and parish councillors do and how they got elected. Check our events page. Here is a recording of one.

What you need to do to stand as a candidate

Do you want to get elected as a councillor, or just stand? If you just want to give people in your area a chance to vote Green, rather than being forced to vote for another party, you just need to get on the ballot paper and on our web site. On the other hand, if you want to help people as an elected councillor, you need to run a serious campaign as a candidate in a target seat.

Non-target candidates

There are places where we cannot win in the next election. It takes time to grow the Green Party in a ward until there are enough local supporters to run a campaign to win. In those areas we need a candidate to stand, so that residents can vote Green. You don't need to campaign. If you would like to campaign, you can help a target candidate or stand as a development candidate.

All you have to do as a non-target candidate is:

1. Get nominated. You need to get 2 voters in your ward to sign a form saying they think you should be allowed to stand. They don't need to vote for you, or be Green supporters. They can be friends, family, or just neighbours. You have to sign nomination forms in March and and other forms in May. The local Green Party agent can help you with the forms and signatures.
2. Supply a photograph suitable for the web site.
3. Write a short election statement for the web site. A bit about yourself, and a bit about what you would do if elected.
4. Sign relevant candidate pledges to support particular campaigns (as advised by our policy hub team) - or ask the agent to do it in your name. Some campaign groups now send surveys to all candidates and report on which responded.

Read a full explanation of what non-target or paper candidates do in this paper candidate guide.

If you are interested, sign up on the candidates wanted page.

Target candidates

There are a number of seats where we have won, or came close to winning in the past. If you don't know what a councillor does, take at look at this councillor role description.

Obviously, such a campaign needs more work than just getting nominated. Candidates are expected to take an active role in their election campaign, including:

• join a campaign team, including a campaign manager, and senior roles to manage volunteers, publicity, data and fundraising,
• work with your team to implement a campaign plan,
• talk to hundreds of voters on the doorstep and at other events,
• taking part in campaign team decisions, including campaign messages,
• respond to voters questions and concerns, 
• be the front person in fundraising appeals.

Candidates selected for target seats who commit to work hard enough to win will get support from the Oxfordshire Green Party, including guidance, opportunities for training and mentoring, technical support and funding.

We are committed to supporting people stand for election. If you have support needs to allow you to stand for election—from childcare to disability support needs—please discuss these with us soon so we can arrange support. Being in the Green Party means we are committed to work as a team, no one has to do anything alone, we will find a way to help in any aspect of campaigning and when people become Councillors.

If you are interested in winning a seat, let us know on the candidates wanted page, then go on to complete the candidate application questionnaire. There will be a series of target candidate application deadlines. Applicants have to complete a form, then speak to election committee members in preparing for selection hustings where you answer questions from members before they vote to select our target candidates.

Development candidates

It is possible, over several years, to build up support for the Green Party and our candidate to win anywhere. A team of local supporters can do a little campaigning throughout the year to get us better known among local residents. If you are interested in leading such a campaign, you can apply to become a development candidate.

As a small party, we do not have the resources (money and volunteers) to do serious campaigns in more than a few target wards. The English first past the post voting system means that we have to concentrate our efforts. We don't get any councillors by coming second everywhere. In particular, in the last 6 weeks of the campaign, all our effort needs to go to support target candidates.

But in the rest of the year a team of local supporters can do surveys to find out what local residents need, raise funds and print and deliver a few local newsletters. As you get better known locally, more people will offer to help, until you have enough people to mount a full campaign. That can happen quickly if you are involved in a local issue campaign that excites residents or gradually. But in March, drop everything to help your nearest target candidate.

If you are interested in developing a ward, let us know on the candidates wanted page, then email <[email protected]> so I can put you in touch with the local campaign team. In the meantime, you can get nominated as a non-target candidate.

Let's make everyone in Oxfordshire aware of the Green Party. Let's put up posters everywhere where there are elections.

We have small A4 posters you can put in your window, bigger A3 posters for large windows or to put on a garden stake, and some large Green Party boards that can be seen from a distance.

Tick the types of poster you can display, then leave a comment saying how many you need.

Or if you just want one or two posters, print this PDF.

At both the recent local and Euro elections the Greens polled second, behind Labour, across Oxford City clearly establishing themselves as the City's second party.