Standing in the Local Elections for the First Time

I joined the Green Party in spring 2004 with the intention of getting actively involved. I lived in Reading at the time. When I went to my first meeting I got talking to the first person I met (I was early). I was astonished and rather impressed when he told me he was standing as a candidate in the local elections shortly to take place. Standing in a local election seemed to be something unusual, far beyond my ken, needing a measure of commitment. It wasn’t long before I revised my first thoughts. It transpired that he was standing as a candidate in a non-target ward (also known as a paper candidate). At the time Reading Green Party had no councillors, and we were working on getting our first councillor in our target ward. There were 18 wards altogether. We would not have looked like a serious political party if we had had just one candidate, in our target ward. So we needed candidates for all the other wards. There was no chance whatsoever of any of these candidates getting elected. It takes years of careful planning and hard work to get a first Green councillor elected – in Reading success crowned our efforts in 2010. I stood as a paper candidate for the first time in 2006, not in Reading as I lived just outside the boundary, but in Wokingham. It had become a totally normal thing to do. We are looking for people to stand in non-target wards here in Worcester, for the city council elections to be held in May this year – and also in non-target divisions for the county council elections. There is very little effort involved: some form-filling, which you are guided through, and the collection of nomination signatures. These are the signatures of ten people who live in the ward or division and are happy for you to be a candidate. You don’t have to collect the signatures yourself. Normally you get to go to the count and experience the workings of local democracy at first hand. But that is not guaranteed in this time of plague. It is very important that we have a Green candidate in every ward and division. Standing a full slate of candidates shows that we are a serious political party, and it ensures that every resident of Worcester has the chance to vote Green. We try to have candidates that reflect the diversity of the local population. We are particularly looking for women to stand, and members of ethnic minorities. – Marjory Bisset