downsmail.co.uk Greens are a party to watch


THE rise in the Green Party vote on May 6 came as a surprise to many. But not to the Greens.


The perception of the entity once called the Ecology Party as a group of bearded, woolly-jumpered cranks and mists with a single issue obsession is simply not the case any more. At the Maidstone Borough Council polls, where the Tories stormed to a virtually unassailable majority, few observers gave Stuart Jeffery much chance of taking the once true blue North Downs seat where Patrik Garten had 72% of the vote (with a 384 majority) last time. That was diminished to a few dozen votes. In Bridge ward, Donna Greenan came second to the Conservatives in a Liberal Democrat ward. She tripled the Green vote on 2016 and the Lib Dem candidate limped in third.


It is true the candidates, scenting scalps there, hammered the wards relentlessly. Even in other blue-rosetted areas, the same was repeated. In Headcorn, Green Susan Parr came second. Yes, readers, second in Headcorn, albeit a distant second. Ditto Marden and Yalding. There were a couple of respectable third places, too.


The Green Party hoovered up 13% of the popular vote, which would suggest it is no longer a haven for the disengaged or disenchanted.


It returned four members to Kent County Council, with Steve Campkin taking 45% of the vote in Ashford east, Rich Lehmann (52%) in Swale east, and Anthony Hood (27%) and Paul Stepto (23%) in Tonbridge. All of these seats were taken with handsome winning margins and each ahead of the Tories. The modern Green Party has been doing what Ukip and Sinn Fein practised over decades - building grassroots support and polishing its electable veneer while slowly confounding critics by creating a wider appeal, particularly with younger voters. Before you knew it, they were snapping at the establishment's ankles.


Post no longer rst class


AWARE of the serious postal delays over Christmas and New Year, I sent rst class a card to my son in Essex seven days before his birthday. It arrived the day after his birthday.


When I told two Maidstone friends they


had very similar stories, one an even longer delay. I still expect next-day delivery if I invest in a rst-class stamp. Am I now foolish? What is going on? Brenda Powell, Maidstone.


Good luck to the Tories


THANK you for publishing my letter about changes needed at the top of


SimonSays SIMON FINLAY Editor simon.nlay@downsmail.co.uk Twitter @Simonnlay6500


Perhaps the Greens have started to take on the mantle of the progressive centre- left, unshackled by the baggage of the current Liberal Democrat and Labour parties.


The Green Party does have wider policies than those one might expect of it. There are stances on the NHS, Europe, planning, animal rights and the justice system which would chime with many


the disenchanted


who lean left of centre. Mind you, whether “eco-socialism” is everyone’s cup of tea is a moot point. So, how did the Greens achieve success in Maidstone? The obvious reasons would lie in the rampant house-building quotas demanded by central Government, creating congested roads and concerning levels of air pollution which, in one Maidstone street, are the worst in the county, according to Friends of the Earth in 2020. They have made the case for better, more accessible and greener public transport, but not necessarily a greater use of electric vehicles. The Greens have put community campaigners to good use on the ground, ghting the corner of residents on basic stuff, such as bin collections. Essentially, voters will gravitate


towards individuals with a track record of serving their communities well and putting in the graft but without


Maidstone Council (Downs Mail, April 15-May 5).


The election results show so many people agree with me. I realise many problems will be ongoing and I wish the new Conservative administration well. We will all be watching them very closely! D Patel, via email


Who are our councillors?


THE Simon Says article in Downs Mail edition number 294 raised some very important issues. On the way to the polling station on May 6, my wife and I discussed why we were being asked to vote for a police and crime commissioner, as we had little or no idea on what he or she is supposed to do,


“ ”


It is no longer a haven for


belonging to any party. Steve Munford (Boughton Monchelea and Chart Sutton), Fay Gooch (Barming and Teston), Gordon Newton (Downswood and Otham) and Tom and Janetta Sams (Harrietsham and Lenham) have demonstrated this ably over a long time. People trust them.


But the Greens appear to have also turned themselves into an organised campaigning outt, despite only having 108 members in the Maidstone area and relying on donations rather than big party donors or union contributions at a national level.


Donna Greenan reected on the success of May 6 thus: "One common theme is that residents appreciated us taking the time to campaign on local issues, attend council meetings and help deal with even the smaller problems, like a waste issue we have in Bridge Ward, when none of us are elected officials. "The results across England show that


we can win seats next year in Maidstone and I am really looking forward to seeing our new KCC councillors in action. "We came second in Marden, where our voter base remained stable, but the Conservatives had a surprise candidate a couple of months before the election. We also came second in Headcorn without any campaigning and not having stood in 2018."


The new ruling Tory administration could bring the Greens into the fold in an advisory role, particularly in devising strategies to combat the environmental impact of Government house-building targets.


New controversial Government legislation being hurried through, which could circumvent many of the existing planning controls, looms large on the horizon now and this borough is unlikely to fare well. Such a move to achieve consensus would certainly be a refreshing and inclusive manner of doing council business for the benet of all the people who live here.


or how qualied each candidate was to do it. I suspect most people wondered the same.


The same questions apply to the candidates putting themselves forward to represent our interests as councillors. What do we know about most of them? Only the party for which, in most cases they stand, so rather than vote for local issues most who vote, I am sure, nd themselves voting on national issues. How many of these candidates are competent? Have they been, for example, successful in business, or public office? We don’t know, but they are responsible for managing a budget of millions of pounds.


I hold most politicians at the same level 45


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