* Greens consolidate their position as third political party in Exeter, achieving 10.5% of the vote city-wide
* Community champion Diana Moore comes a strong second in St David’s with 32% of vote
* Result again casts spotlight on ‘antiquated and unfair voting system’; under a proportional system Greens would have 3-4 councillors
* Green Party councillor, Chris Musgrave, pledges to continue holding Labour council to account and present fresh and bold ideas
Responding, Diana Moore, candidate in St David’s ward said:
“Our strong showing in St David’s shows that many people do want an alternative to the old and stale two-party tribal politics. I am hugely grateful to the amazing support from the community in St David’s and dedication of Green Party activists and members who devoted much time to listening to residents in every street across the ward.
“This result shows that it won’t take much more of a swing to win here. Labour’s stale line that the ‘Greens risk letting the Conservatives in’ lies dead. Voters don’t believe that any more and are wanting a fresh voice.
“St David’s will continue to be a two-horse race between Labour and Greens. I say this with no sense of relish, because our antiquated first-past-the-post electoral system is deeply unfair. Under a proportional system, the Green Party would have 3-4 councillors in Exeter.”
“I pledge to continue listening to the residents of St David’s and be an independent voice standing their corner. I know that Greens can win here.”
Chris Musgrave, Green councillor in Alphington, said:
“With first-past-the-post it is a travesty that councillors can be elected by just 15% of those registered to vote. This means we end up with one-party state councils elected by a minority. That’s neither representative or democratic. No wonder turnout is so pitiful, when so many feel disenfranchised and that their vote doesn’t count.
“I will continue to hold the Labour-led council to account. There is much to do. People are deeply unhappy about Labour’s bus station shambles; their failure to tackle air pollution and broken promises such as breaking a manifesto commitment on setting up household food waste collections. Equally, people are responding positively to our ideas of a modern market, affordable housing and consideration of refurbishing the current bus station [1]. Greens will continue to bring fresh and bold ideas to the council, like our motion on banning single-use plastics [2], which received unanimous cross-party support.”
ENDS
Notes
[1] https://exeter.greenparty.org.uk/news/2018/04/24/single-use-plastics-final-straw/
[2] https://exeter.greenparty.org.uk/bus-and-coach-station-site.html