Darlington Green Party select Parliamentary candidate

Darlington Green Party candidate Matthew Snedker, with Cllr Bryony Holroyd and other members of Darlington Green Party

Darlington Green Party have announced their candidate for the forthcoming General Election.

Matthew Snedker is a prominent local environmental campaigner who has helped to set up community allotments, orchards and wildflower meadows. He also coordinates an award winning road safety campaign and works for bike hire and bike recycling groups.

Matthew stood for the Greens in the 2017 General Election and was recently elected as one of two new Green Councillors for College Ward, with more than 50% of the vote.

A former senior sales manager for a national retailer, Matthew is father to three school-aged children and his partner works in the chemical industry.

Speaking after his selection, Matthew said “I joined the Green Party when it became clear that I’d been asking the wrong people to do the right thing. We are already seeing the difference that having a Green in the room can make at the Town Hall, now is the time to elect more Green voices into Parliament.”

Matthew added "I am passionate about securing a just transition to a low carbon economy so that everyone benefits from a cleaner, greener, fairer Darlington."

The Green Party will campaign on the climate crisis, for a fair economy, a public NHS, decent housing, better transport and free education.

Anyone wishing to offer support to the Darlington Green Party can contact them by email darlingtongreens@gmail.com, telephone 01325 488313 or on Facebook as "Darlington Green Party".

Stanhope Park leaf raking and litter pick

Green Party members were joined by College ward residents to rake leaves in Stanhope Park, ready for collection by the Council. Raking the leaves up in this 'formal' park helps keep the grass in good condition over the summer.

July College ward leaflet and street surgery

Back in July we delivered another College ward leaflet, which can be viewed online for anyone not living in the ward. Leaflet deliveries are an easy way to get started being more active in the local party; keep an eye on our Facebook page for leafleting events or contact us to get involved.

In July we also carried out a street surgery in part of the College ward; Matthew and Bryony had productive discussions with several residents about local issues.

Darlington Green Party call on Councillors to work together

The Green Party are calling on all councillors to come together to form a joint administration, after the recent local elections left no political party in overall control, in order to work from a common programme to put in place progressive policies and serve for the common good of the people of Darlington.

Matthew Snedker, coordinator of Darlington Green Party said "Voters have not seen fit to give any one party a majority in the council chamber, rejecting a Labour party that had lost touch but not trusting the Conservatives, whose national party is in disarray. The only way to respect the vote is to form a joint administration that rises above party barriers and works for the common good."

Bryony Holroyd, Green Party councillor said "We have a clear program of policies that will meet the needs of people today while securing a safer and better future."

The Green Party are inviting representatives of the other parties and independent councillors to a meeting to discuss a framework that will allow the whole council to work from a common programme.

The policies proposed by the Green Party will include;

• Declaring a climate emergency with measures in place to bring carbon emissions from the Borough to net zero by 2030.
• Review the housing plan with the aim to bring the total number of new homes planned back in line with government estimates, a reduction of some two-thirds.
• Urgent review of the Northern Link Road as there are serious questions about its environmental impact and doubts surrounding its economic credentials.
• Introduce supplementary planning guidance to ensure all new homes built will have minimal heating bills by adopting zero carbon home design codes.
• Lead by example by reviewing rates of pay within the council, with the aim to make Darlington a Real Living Wage town.
• Consult on wide area 20mph limits on public health grounds to all roads where people live, work and go to school. This to be the first stage in designing a new circulation plan for Darlington’s congested road network.

Bryony Holroyd continued "the Green Party will push to improve the environment and quality of life of Darlington residents, whilst also reducing resource use to sustainable levels. All ideas will hinge on community involvement, so residents create and own a solution they feel is most appropriate."

Matthew Snedker added "Some commentators are predicting a return to the paralysis and infighting of the late 80’s when our council last had no majority party. But surely, if councillors of all parties, and none, genuinely sought election in order to serve the people of Darlington rather than themselves, then we can rise above political divisions and work as a joint administration."

Green Party breakthrough in Darlington Council elections

Newly elected Bryony and Matthew, with some of the Green Party team

Darlington Green Party members are celebrating success in the local elections in Darlington, after returning the town’s first two Green Councillors.

Bryony Holroyd, who works for an energy efficiency charity, and Matthew Snedker, a prominent local environmental campaigner, will represent College ward after increasing the party’s share of the vote from 13% in 2015 to 51%. This success builds on the 2015 local election which saw the Green Party gain the third largest number of votes across the town, which the party have repeated this year.

Speaking after her election, Bryony said “I joined the Green Party when it became clear that I’d been asking the wrong people to do the right thing. Now the people of Darlington have shown that they are fed up with not being listened to, and with decisions being made without opposition.”

Matthew added “We were delighted to get the third largest share of the vote across the town in 2015, but realised that we had to focus on one ward to get a breakthrough into the Council chamber. However, as Green Councillors we represent not just the people of College ward but also those Green voters across the town.”

Martin Wood, who placed third for the Green Party in Park West alongside Louise Maddison, where cutting down the Blackwell trees was a big issue, added “Across the country there are a record number of Green Councillors on a record number of Councils and we’re seeing that having a Green in the room can make a real difference. With Matthew and Bryony holding the other parties to account and being an effective opposition, local people will have a stronger voice.”

Anyone wishing to offer support to the Darlington Green Party can contact them by email darlingtongreens@gmail.com, telephone 01325 242498 or on Facebook as "Darlington Green Party".

Bryony and Matthew celebrate

Darlington Green Party Candidates 2019

First the good news: if you live in Darlington you do have a Green candidate to vote for in next week's local elections. Now the bad news: unfortunately, as a small local party funded only by donations from members, and at a disadvantage due to the First Past the Post voting system, we have had to target all our resources on College ward where we felt we had the best chance of winning when we started campaigning a year ago. This means we do not have the funds (nor sufficient volunteers) to deliver leaflets to households in other areas. However, you can find our College ward leaflets - which mention issues which are relevant across the town - at https://darlingtongreenparty.blogspot.com/search/label/leaflet and the national Green Party's Local Government Programme is available at https://www.greenparty.org.uk/local-government-programme Overall, our local government programme involves lots of community involvement in decision-making (not just "consultation" like this council currently does) with a recognition that a suitable solution will be different in different places and situations, and it must be created and owned by the community.

Our candidates are:

* Bank Top and Lascelles - Kevin Lewis * Brinkburn and Favedale - Terri Hankinson * Cockerton - Ty Hankinson * College - Bryony Holroyd * College - Matthew Snedker * Eastbourne - Richard Wise * Harrowgate Hill - Christopher Brown * Haughton and Springfield - Mike McTimoney * Heighton and Coniscliffe - Helen Kinch * Hummersknott - Kathy Barley * Hurworth - Richard Lawley * Mowden - Michael Cooke * North Road - Anna-Maria Thain * Northgate - Neil Kang-Scarth * Park East - Jon Barley * Park West - Louise Maddison * Park West - Martin Wood * Pierremont - Michael Chapman * Red Hall and Lingfield - Fran Wood * Sadberge and Middleton St George - Peter Commane * Stephenson - Lucy Chapman * Whinfield - Brian Tudor

Final College ward leaflet

College ward candidates Matthew and Bryony out canvassing in the Easter sunshine

Our final leaflet of the election campaign was delivered to College ward over the weekend, and can also be viewed online.