Lancaster City Council
Caroline Jackson, one of our 23 (out of 61) Green Party councillors on Lancaster City Council, has been elected as Council Leader with the support of the 7 Lib Dems and 5 Independents. This is her third time as Council Leader, and leading a council without an overall majority is never easy. We wish Caroline and the rest of our councillors every success in implementing Green policies in Lancaster.
Councillor Caroline Jackson
New Group on Lancashire County Council
The bad news in Lancashire was, of course, the election of 53 Reform councillors which resulted in their taking control of the council. The Tories previously controlled the council with 48 seats which fell to 8. Reform took 63% of the seats with just 36% of the vote, and their new cabinet is made up of 10 white men, failing to reflect the diversity of Lancashire residents.
The good news is that, for the first time ever, we managed to stand a full slate of 84 candidates. Well done all our candidates who gave electors throughout all of Lancashire the option to vote Green, and a special thanks to Clare Hales, one of our Field Organisers, who organised this.
The best news is that we increased our Green Party councillors from 2 to 4 with new wins in Lancaster and Accrington.
Our 4 Green councillors have have joined with 7 Independent Councillors to form a new group which has been registered as Progressive Lancashire. Green Councillor, Gina Dowding is the Deputy Leader of the group, which is now the largest opposition group on the County Council.
With such a large majority, Reform will be able to push through many of its policies but Progressive Lancashire aims to be an effective and constructive opposition, holding the leadership of the County Council to account on matters which affect residents across Lancashire.
Lancashire Green Councillors
Hamish Mills, Sohail Asghar, Gina Dowding, Paul Stubbins
Suspensions Lifted
At our AGM in April, we called for the lifting of the suspensions of our two former North West chairs and 3 members of the national Standing Orders Committee, and for all other suspensions to be reviewed. We are pleased to report that these suspensions were lifted and that there is now a review of all other suspensions under way.
Ex Labour Councillor Joins the Greens
Cumberland Councillor, Helen Tucker issued her statement of resignation from Labour on Wednesday 7th May stating it was because “the decisions and policies coming from Westminster no longer align with my values”.
She listed all the shortcomings of Labour that we as Greens are well aware of, including not fully funding teachers’ pay awards, failing to address child poverty and the refusal of the government to stop sending arms to Israel.
We welcome another disillusioned ex-Labour member who joins the thousands of others who see the Greens as the progressive party the country needs.
Two other Cumberland Labour Councillors resigned recently and now stand as Independents. Cumberland is still controlled by Labour but we can hope for more Green successes when the next elections are held in 2027.
Councillor Helen Tucker
2025 Election Results
Across England, the Green Party successfully defended 35 council seats and won an additional 44. The Lib Dems won an additional 163 whilst the Tories lost 674 and Labour 187.
Despite our increased number of councillors, these elections were a disaster for those of us who share Green Party values due to Reform – a socially regressive party of climate change denial – having major successes, including the election of 677 councillors, control of 10 councils and winning the Halton and Runcorn parliamentary by-election.
We can hope that this is a blip and that there will not be a continued upward trajectory for Reform but cannot take that for granted. We need to work even harder to be seen as the true alternative to Labour and Tories.
Other News
North West Green Party; Election Strategy Day
With the Tories and Labour both totally discredited and Reform reaping the benefits, it is more important than ever that our party offers a credible alternative. At our AGM in April, we agreed that we would have a full day’s discussion on why the Green Party has not made a major breakthrough and what we can do to change this situation.
Your North West Committee is working to organise this all members meeting, and full details will be circulated shortly.
As the only progressive party campaigning throughout the whole of the UK we have a great responsibility to offer a real alternative and we hope that a large number of members will participate in this discussion.
Trades Union Liaison Officer
We will be seeking members willing to undertake this role and this will be the subject of a separate communication.
The full role description will be circulated and the North West Committee will co-opt a member from amongst those expressing an interest.
External Communications
We are very pleased to announce that, the North West Green Party committee co-opted Jane Turner to the role of External Communications Officer at our meeting on 15th May.
Yours in solidarity,
Paul Davies
Chair of North West Green Party Committee