News / Politics
Caroline Lucas joins local election campaign in Bristol
Less than a week before the local elections take place, Caroline Lucas visited Bristol where she told a crowd of campaigners: “You really are on the cusp of something so exciting”.
“Being in control of the council is within touching distance,” said the Greens’ sole MP on Saturday morning. “It’s massively important to get all of those amazing councillors elected so that you can do your very best for the city of Bristol.”
A house on leafy Sydenham Road in Cotham was the backdrop for the event that saw Lucas, who is standing down from government at the next election, join local volunteers and wannabe councillors as they prepared for a day of door-knocking around the city.
is needed now More than ever
The group spoke of their optimism for Thursday’s vote that could see the Greens take power as the largest group in Bristol City Council.
Caroline Lucas has been the MP for Brighton Pavilion since the 2010 general election
“Just to remind you why it is so important to have Green voices in every single corridor of power and influence, I’ve sat there in Westminster over the last few years almost unable to believe what I’m seeing,” said Lucas.
“What’s so dismal about that is that not only do we have an increasingly populist government that is rolling back the right to strike, the right to protest, lefty lawyers are in that firing line.
“Even the right to vote is in that firing line with a new photo ID requirements, which we know will actually act as a disincentive for some of the most disadvantaged communities.
“But what’s been so doubly depressing is seeing Labour are not providing a serious alternative to that.”
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Read more: Marley Bennett: ‘There’s still a lot to do’
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The local election will decide which councillors win the 70 seats up for grabs at City Hall. The Greens are currently the largest group after they secured an extra seat at a by-election in February 2023.
With the role of the mayor being scrapped and the return of the committee system, the result will determine who will run the council.
The party is also hoping that Carla Denyer, who is stepping down as Green councillor for Clifton Down, will become the MP for new constituency Bristol Central at the next general election – unseating Labour’s Thangam Debbonaire.
Speaking in Cotham, Denyer said: “Caroline’s legacy shows us and shows the voters in Bristol that we don’t have to accept politics as usual and something better is possible if we just look for it.”
Currently in Bristol, the Greens have the most councillors with 25 and Labour has the second largest with 23
All photos: Betty Woolerton
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