winchester greens rubber stamping an even stronger presence in winchester !

After the election and Count, there’s the little job of collecting circa. 100 Vote Green Boards….

Richard Needham (right) with Andy Stables slowly filling up the Needham household’s back garden. Just the first of about five lots !

The post By-election results and count in photos appeared first on Winchester Green Party.

it’s your views which matter !

Upon hearing the breaking news story in the Hampshire Chronicle referring to the LibDem Council led deal with Southampton University to redevelop the River Park Leisure Centre falling through, within 24 hours, led by Lorraine Estelle, we arranged a Stall outside the Leisure Centre informing residents about the news and for their views on alternative uses for the site.

The hours spent there were most beneficial. Here’s a list of  Here’s a list of all comments made on our post-it note ‘Have your Say’ board…

our ‘yes – no – don’t know’ board

Click image to view full size

Again, this shows just how much our residents care about the future of our beautiful city, also a good panoramic view from all ages.

We’d like to thank all those who took participated and rest assured all these points will be raised with the relevant committees of our City Council.

IT’S YOUR VIEWS THAT COUNT !

See also the Hampshire Chronicle ”Winchester Greens on the
River Park Leisure Centre’ article here >>

The post we asked local residents for views on the river park leisure centre’s future appeared first on Winchester Green Party.

Delivering new year cards

Our non relenting team of volunteers managed to deliver 12,000 new Year cards. This covered the Meon Valley County ward for which Malcolm Wallace is Councillor and incorporates Whiteley, Curbridge, Shedfield, Waltham Chase, Swanmore, Meonstoke, Warnford and Hambledon to name just a few places.

In the Winchester District Wards a huge number were also distributed.

Delivering so many by hand in the rain, wind and cold of January was no mean task, but as always,our Team was up to the challenge and a good time was had by all.

Are you able to help with delivering newsletters and leaflets to people’s homes? Any help, no matter how much time you can give us, would be greatly appreciated. Go to our ‘Get Involved page for more details.

Coiuncillor Surgery in Droxford

Once again St.Wilfred’s Cafe kindly gave us permission to use their premises and as always it was well attended by local residents keen to speak about their issues, concerns or just to ask more for more details of the goings on in Winchester District and County Councils.

Please keep your eyes on our facebook, bluesky, instagram and X-Twitter pages for times and places in other areas.

our annual general meeting 8th.january

Joint Co-ordinator Max Priesemann gave a presentation of our progress and achievements in 2024.

There are some changes to our Team. New appointments as follows….

Communications Officer; Virginia Ainscough
Membership Secretary; Liam Bailey-Morgan
Database and Protection Officer; Luke Ainscough

You can see the full team on our People page here.

It was also announced that our other Joint Co-ordinator Kate Needham has been selected as Elections Co-ordinator for our regional South East Green Party. This is as well as her role for Winchester Greens.

our first ‘green chat’ of 2025

Once again we met at Projects Kitchen and Store in Winchester. With another three popping in and out to say hello, we were sixteen in total, a great sign of how these mornings are growing to be a very popular event amongst green minded people and of course, just having a chat in general.

The post A busy start to the year for winchester greens appeared first on Winchester Green Party.

• Local decision-making: Ensure decisions are made at the closest possible level to the people affected.
• Community trust: Empower local communities to shape their own futures.
• Fair investment: Provide councils with adequate funding to drive meaningful change.
• Proportional representation: Implement fair voting in local elections.
Green Party MP Ellie Chowns voiced her concerns during a parliamentary debate, stating, “I welcome the elements of this White Paper that are about devolution, but we have to recognize that some elements are about concentration.” She warned that replacing local tiers with mayoral authorities risks creating a “democratic deficit”, especially given the low voter turnout (30% on average) in mayoral elections.
Chowns pressed the government to address this risk and urged for the introduction of proportional voting systems in local elections. The Green Party’s overarching message is clear: devolution must genuinely empower local communities, not distance them from decision-making processes. They pledge to continue advocating for local councils to retain and expand their role in leading green transformation across the country.

Local Response from Central Meon Valley Councillors…

Central Meon Valley Councillors Danny Lee, Malcolm Wallace, and Suzanne White have committed to minimising the impact of the proposed changes on local decision-making and democratic accountability. They emphasized the need for local input on key priorities, including housing, environmental protection, local economy and infrastructure improvements.
“As plans develop, we will work hard to ensure the impact on local decision-making and democratic accountability is minimised,” the councillors stated. “This includes ensuring local inputs into prioritisation of the right homes in the right places, supporting nature, climate, local economy, and transport improvements.”

Cllr Danny Lee added, “The timelines for the reorganisation of Winchester and the Meon Valley are still being worked on, but the Government has committed to collaborating with local councils to develop and implement transition plans. Specific timelines for the dissolution of existing councils and the establishment of new unitary authorities will be determined during this phase. So, for now it is business as usual”

For more information on the White Paper and the Local Government Association’s https://www.local.gov.uk/parliament/briefings-and-responses/devolution-white-paper-day-factual-briefing

The post Green Party criticises the Government White Paper on English Devolution for Local Government reorganisation! appeared first on Winchester Green Party.

Click images to view full newsletters

The post Meon Valley, Whiteley & Shedfield Newsletters, Nov ’24 appeared first on Winchester Green Party.

The recent boundary changes have meant that Whiteley and Shedfield, currently under Winchester, are now in the new Hamble Valley constituency (see maps on previous post).

After the formal selection for a candidate, Kate Needham, our Winchester Co-Chair and candidate for Whiteley and Shedfield in the City elections will be standing.

Kate writes..

We are in a climate and biodiversity emergency. Local services have been cut and we have lost so much. I worry about what the future will be like for my grandchildren. I would like them to be able to paddle in the sea and local streams without fear of becoming sick. I’d like them to breathe cleaner air and be surrounded by more green spaces and nature.

To be able to cycle more safely and to be able to afford to live here when they are older.
We need to vote more greens into positions of power and influence in order to take action now for a greener, fairer world and a future we can all look forward to.

The post Kate Needham to stand as candidate in Hamble Valley appeared first on Winchester Green Party.

Our hard working Teams were out and about for a number of weeks before the election date. With such short notice for the vacant County County by-election, it meant our canvassers and leaflet distributors were extremely hard pressed to cover Central Meon Valley, Meon Valley as well as around Winchester city itself.

Requests for ‘Vote Green’ boards more than doubled over last year with Richard Needham setting up his own ‘factory’ in his Winchester back garden ! Just when he thought he had enough, even more requests came flooding in.

Our Whiteley Action day brought in friends from East Hampshire and Test Valley Green Party. We are indebted to them.

Richard Needham hard at work – Cllrs. Suzanne White and Danny Lee in Droxford

Max Priesemann, Jo Harmer, Kate Needham and Richard Cannon – Malcolm Wallace planning with Dee Wright

Malcolm visiting residents in Waltham Chase – One of over 100 Vote Green Boards around the area

Alex Ellis, Lorraine Estelle, Giles Gooding, Ilana Pleas, Kate Needham in Hyde – Dee Wright

Suzanne White and Malcolm Wallace at their declarations (videos HERE >>)

Kate Needham and Max Priesemann at their declarations

Giles Gooding and Lorraine Estelle both coming second in their Wards, a best result for the City.

The post Last days of campaigning and the count. appeared first on Winchester Green Party.

Central meon valley and Meon valley by-elections

Councillors Danny Lee, Suzanne White and Malcolm Wallace

Four years ago some thought the Green Party would never have representation in either the Winchester District Council or Hampshire County Council. Fast forward four years and we now have three District Councillors, one of which also a County Councillor !

In Central Meon Valley Suzanne became our third Councillor alongside Danny Lee and Malcolm Wallace. The votes were as follows

WHITE Suzanne Emma Green Party 1717 – 52%
GEMMELL Linda Local Conservatives 960 – 29%
BODGER Eric Liberal Democrats 579 -17%
HIRSCH Oliver Stephen Labour Party 80 – 2%

Meanwhile, after a hard fought contest, Cllr. Malcolm Wallace won the County Council by-election last held by the Conservatives. He now becomes the first Green Councillor for Hampshire. The votes were as follows…

Malcolm Wallace Green Party – 2083 – 36%
Vivian Achwal Liberal Democrat -1906 -33%
Neil Bolton Conservatives 1630 – 28%
Oliver Stephen Hirsch The Labour Party – 199

the declarations..

big headway in city wards

After huge requests for ‘Vote Green’ boards and many supporters willing to give their time to delivering leaflets, canvassing and having boards in their front garden, residents could see we’re a Party on a mission to make Winchester and it’s surrounding areas a better place to be. Two Wards, St.Luke (candidate Giles Gooding) and St.Bartholomew (candidate Lorraine Estelle) from being in third place at the last election, came in a very reputable second place.

Our message is clear, ‘a Green in the room makes a difference’. It already has with two District Councillors who have achieved a lot in the last two years and with Suzanne joining them, things will get better.

Left, Giles Gooding – Right, Lorraine Estelle

Of course, throughout the whole of Winchester District and Meon Valley, we could not have achieved what we have without huge help from our members, supporters, canvassers, leaflet distributors and residents who have requested having boards in their front gardens and windows.

You can see details on all our candidates HERE

thank you for voting green !

The post Suzanne White and Malcolm Wallace win elections and Greens make big progress in the City appeared first on Winchester Green Party.

Our Candidate, Cllr. Malcolm Wallace

Malcolm was elected a Winchester City Council Councillor for the Central Meon Ward in 2022 and since then has become an established member of the Council and proven that a Green in the room really does make a difference. Here’s just a few things he has achieved in this time..

• Successfully passed a Council motion to include the effect on our precious rivers in planning applications for major developments
• Organised a ‘Transport Forum’ to bring together parish council leads across the local area
• Successfully passed a Council motion on opposing fracking across the district
• Worked with fellow Cllr. Danny Lee in successfully passing a Council motion to declare a nature emergency.
• Has improved accessibility for disabled residents by securing agreement for some dropped kerbs and pavement resurfacing.
• With Cllr. Danny Lee has hosted councillor surgeries around the local area listening to what really matters to local people
• With Kate Needham (candidate for Whiteley & Shedfield) has promoted energy efficient grants for both community buildings and domestic properties to help people with the cost-of-living crisis
• Has worked hard to help local businesses with sustainability initiatives.
• Supported Parish Councils on flood action pushing for Southern Water to upgrade drainage

In the last Meon Valley County Council election Malcolm came second to the Conservatives, a vote for him in this election will help to secure our first Green Party Councillor for Hampshire.

Malcolm always out and about listening to people’s views and issues and……..acting upon them.

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The post Hampshire County Council Meon Valley By-election appeared first on Winchester Green Party.