We are delighted that residents across the borough voted Green to support our vision for fairer, greener communities. 18,425 votes were cast for the Green Party in total across the borough – and Greens have been making gains across the country.
People are turning to the Greens because they know that we work hard in the community and do not take support for granted.
We came second in a majority of wards in Greenwich and Woolwich. We proved to voters that we are local leaders in the fight for clean air, safer streets, traffic reduction and fighting climate change.
Labour had to work exceptionally hard to prevent us winning Green representation for East Greenwich, where we failed to get our first Green councillor by just 68 votes.
The results in Greenwich Park – with our lead candidate Hayley Jeffery getting an historic 1000 votes – showed that Greens are increasingly considered a credible alternative in this area.
The great turnout Greens enjoyed in this election shows residents’ dissatisfaction with the status quo.
The last-minute council vote for “pause and review” of Silvertown Tunnel has not convinced residents that its opposition to the project can be trusted. Greens will continue fighting to stop this new motorway spilling additional cars and HGV traffic into Greenwich. And if Silvertown Tunnel cannot be scrapped, then we will fight for it to converted for use for bicyles, DLR and other non-car uses. We will hold the new intake of Labour councillors to account for their campaign pledges to oppose this polluting project.
Increased votes for Greens represented support for our vision of safe streets and a protest against the council’s scrapping of low traffic neighbourhood schemes. We must not prioritise the privileges of motorists over the right to clean air. We must urgently address the climate emergency by slashing emissions. Greens will continue lobbying for amending and extending traffic-reducing policies. It is imperative that we secure climate-safe streets for our children. On major arterial routes, we must ensure that active travel schemes are not “one and done” but regularly monitored and assessed for improvements.
We maintain that vibrant local democracies need meaningful local opposition – and not a one-party state. These positive local election results for the Greens show rising support for our agenda and our ability to meaningfully challenge the council in Greenwich on key areas on behalf of the community.
We have seen that the hardworking and community-focused politics of the Green Party are increasingly attractive to Greenwich residents.
We are convinced that it is a matter of time before the rising support for Greens translates into councillor seats here – following the breakthroughs made by Greens in this election in Newham, Tower Hamlets and Croydon.
Finally, and most importantly, we would like to put on record our sincere thanks to every single voter who cast a vote for one of our candidates. We will keep fighting for you.