Thursday 9 July 2015

Greens start process to choose London Mayoral candidate with hustings on Saturday

Six candidates will compete to be the Green Party’s London Mayoral candidate 



In what the Green Party is describing as its “most competitive and high profile contest to date”, London Councillors Sian Berry and Caroline Russell, Party Spokespeople Tom Chance, Benali Hamdache, and Jonathan Bartley, and mentor and activist Rashid Nix, will now compete in a series of internal hustings before voting closes on 30th August.

The party is expected to announce the winner of the contest in the first week of September.
Caroline Allen, Co-Chair of the London Green Party, said:
“The breadth of experience, skills, and knowledge amongst our six candidates is a testament to just how far the Green Party has come in London and shows that we are going to be a force to be reckoned with come next May, no matter who is our candidate. It’s my pleasure to wish each of our candidates good luck in what I know will be high quality and close-fought contest.

“Our priority is that we use the coming weeks to throw open our doors to the public and debate and discuss the issues affecting London and what it is we are going to do about them. With the right Mayor and Assembly in place, London doesn’t have to continue being the play-thing of rich investors and housing speculators. We invite everyone to get involved with our campaigns. Together, we can take back London for Londoners.”
Baroness Jenny Jones AM and Darren Johnson AM, the Green Party’s two current members of the London Assembly, have both already declared their intention not to stand either for Mayor or for re-nomination as Assembly Members. 

Next week, On Thursday 16th July at 7.30pm, Brent Central Constituency Labour Party will be meeting 'on the nomination/s' for  Labour Party Leader and Deputy Leader. Registration starts at 7.15pm at Neasden Methodist Church and people who arrive after the debate 'on the merits of each candidate will NOT be entitled to vote.' Attendees are asked to bring their Labour Party membership card, Photo ID card and proof of address.

1 comment:

Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group said...

Question for candidates re what Mayoral candidates would do about electoral polls and Universal Credit exacerbating social exclusion and electoral cleansing

An April 2015 New Statesman article points out that pollsters such as YouGov canvass almost exclusively online.(1) Yet this creates a demographic shift in the electoral process to further the exclusion of those who cannot use a computer to register for Universal Credit and would thus be in danger of eviction through rent arrears.(2)

What would you as London Mayor do to counter these tendencies and to further the inclusion of slower learners who find what computer skills training there is available -- and being cut -- too stressful in an increasingly computer-dominated world?(3)

(1) Living by numbers: YouGov and the power of the pollsters
(2)Universal Credit and Local Authorities
(3) Kate Belgrave blog post
Learning and literacy difficulties, no computer – but must do jobsearch online with no help