On Thursday 6th May there will be council by-elections held across the country, at the same time as the London mayoral election.
Greenwich Green Party is contesting four of these by-elections in Glyndon, Greenwich West, Kidbrooke with Hornfair and Shooters Hill.
If you would like to volunteer to deliver leaflets or be part of an action day knocking on doors and speaking to residents (when Covid-related restrictions are relaxed), please email coordinator@greenwich.greenparty.org.uk or sign up for an action day here.
Here are the candidates for each ward and more information about them:
Leonie Barron is the Green Party candidate for Glyndon ward.
Leonie has lived in Plumstead for 17 years and has one son at a local primary school and another at a residential special school.
She was a school governor for seven years and has spent time volunteering for the family support charity HomeStart. She is also volunteering at a community food growing project, based at a local outdoor educational provision for children who are not managing in mainstream schools.
Leonie is passionate about the environment, and believes that local councils must make it a collective priority to address the climate and biodiversity crises in every policy area, as well as introducing measures to make it as easy as possible for individuals to choose a ‘greener’ course of action.
Matt is an environmental policy specialist who has lived in Greenwich West since 2013. He narrowly missed out on winning a first Greenwich council seat for the Green Party with 32% vote share in Peninsula ward in 2018.
He supported the resident-led No Toxic Cruise Port campaign which persuaded the council to scrap plans for a polluting cruise terminal at Enderby Wharf in Greenwich in 2018.
He is an active campaigner against the Silvertown Tunnel proposed for Greenwich and regularly asks questions at Greenwich Council meetings to hold Council members to account for their support for the tunnel.
Carol is a retired biologist and immunologist, who spent her career researching infectious diseases and cancer.
She has lived in Kidbrooke for 20 years and during that time has been actively involved in initiatives to protect and enhance local green spaces.
Over the years, Carol has worked with the council’s Environment Champions project to remove litter and deal with fly-tipping, campaigned to improve air quality and worked to improve cleaning standards at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich.
She has launched a five-point plan to improve the quality of life in Greenwich and particularly in Kidbrooke with Hornfair.
Carol’s five-point plan for Kidbrooke with Hornfair:
- Tackle the increasing problems of litter and fly-tipping
- Campaign to improve the area around the Shooters Hill shopping parade
- Hold the council to account on improving air quality
- Conserve mature trees and biodiversity in the ward
- Protect public access to open green spaces
The pandemic has highlighted the relevance of this plan to health and wellbeing.
Tamasin (Keeper) Rhymes is the Greenwich Green Party candidate for Shooters Hill, where she has lived for more than 12 years.
She worked in theatre and events until the pandemic, when she began home-schooling her two primary school-age children.
As a school governor (with a little teaching experience) she is passionate about education for all ages and a fair start including housing, food and internet access.
Over the last two years she has worked with the Friends of Eaglesfield to secure £100,000 for new playground equipment (hopefully being installed this summer). Tamasin has also worked with Greenwich Council and Friends of Shrewsbury Park to set up and plant Plum Lane Community Orchard.
During lockdown she has also helped set up Better Streets Greenwich to involve more people in making our streets, safer, greener and better places to be, as well as Greenwich Climate Network which monitors Greenwich’s move toward becoming a carbon-neutral borough by 2030.
Currently working as a part-time administrator for a local charity she is setting up Greenwich Sustainability Hub to help everyone in the borough find simple ways to save the planet, save resources and save money.
Tamasin believes a green recovery is vital to give everyone a sustainable future, a fair share of resources and a chance to enjoy the amazing diversity and biodiversity across Greenwich.