Hackney Green Party are highly concerned about local democracy in Hackney after Labour and the Tories seized yet more seats on the council.
In the recent local elections, the Greens won 17% of the vote across Hackney, compared to just 11% won by the Conservatives, and yet have no councillors due to the archaic, unfair first-past-the-post voting system.
We won 37.9% of the vote in Hackney Downs and 33.4% in Dalston.
Alastair Binnie-Lubbock, who lost by 90 votes in Hackney Downs candidate said:
"Our campaign reached communities we've never engaged with before and illustrated the benefits independent Green councillors could bring to Hackney. We are still the second party of Hackney and it's a shame that the make-up of the council doesn’t reflect this.
I feel that the relatively poor and right-wing opposition that the handful of Tory councillors will provide will not encourage Labour to be as dynamic and progressive as Green councillors would have.
Hopefully, our strong performance will show Labour they shouldn't take the electorate for granted. But Hackney is ready for some positive change and we're ready to help deliver it.”
Alex Armitage, Dalston candidate who lost by 21 votes after a recount, said:
"It was galling to lose by such a narrow margin in Dalston but we have to keep the faith.
Watching the count, it was clear to see so many people split their votes and chose candidates from different parties. People in Dalston are crying out for change, but this was not delivered by the voting system that we have.
With such limited campaign resources Dalston, we were forced to be creative in the way that we got our message across to voters. In a similar way, there is so much creativity in our community and I’m convinced that by properly engaging with residents in Dalston, we could come up with some amazing community-driven solutions to the needs that we have. This is the essence of democracy; true engagement with the people and not just allowing some people to vote every four years.
During the campaign it was a privilege to speak to people on the doorstep and I thank the hundreds of people who stopped to chat to me and share their experience and knowledge. There is such a richness of humanity in our wonderful community and I’m sad to have narrowly lost out on the opportunity to represent people here.”
The Green Party welcomes working with parties who are outside the Labour/ Tory cartel to campaign for a fairer democratic system.
ENDS
For more information, interviews or photos please contact Hackney Greens Press Officer, Heather Hampson, heather[email protected], 07912625506
NOTES
- Alastair Binnie-Lubbock got 1579 votes in Hackney Downs
- Alex Armitage got 957 votes in Dalston