Tameside Greens look to the future after election

Tameside Green Party didn’t quite make the hoped for breakthrough in last Thursday’s local elections to secure their second seat on the borough council.

But locally the party were still celebrating results which saw them cement their position as the borough’s third party.

In total, 5,901 voters put their cross against a Green candidate, giving them an 11 per cent share of the vote across the borough.

“That’s an amazing result and better than the national average,” said Green Councillor for Ashton Waterloo, Lee Huntbach, who made history in 2019 by becoming the borough’s first Green councillor.

“We also had a candidate in all of the 19 wards which meant that everybody in Tameside had the option to vote Green.

“We were disappointed that we didn’t get our second councillor in Ashton Waterloo, but that will come,” he added.

“This was Lorraine Whitehead’s first attempt, and it took me three to gain the confidence of the electorate. I’m predicting Lorraine will do it in two.”

Lorraine’s second place confirmed the Greens as a dominant force in Ashton Waterloo.

The seat was won by Sangita Patel for Labour with a 476.9 per cent share of the vote, but the Greens polled a 29.5 per cent share, leaving the Tories third with a 22.7 per cent share.

Lorraine was pragmatic, stating: “I did say in my last letter to voters, ‘I look forward to working with and for the residents of the ward of Ashton Waterloo if elected… but also if not’, and that’s exactly what I will do. I have worked for the community here for years so it’s back to business for me.”

Lorraine spent part of polling day picking up prescriptions for vulnerable residents and refused to delay the collection saying: “Knocking a few more doors wasn’t going to make that much difference and residents have come to rely on my prescription and shopping errands.”

Greens gained more councillors in Stockport and Manchester this time and were third in the Greater Manchester mayoral election.

Lee feels that the growth of the Green vote across Greater Manchester and the North West was down to the public not settling for the two main parties’ token efforts to be ‘Greener’.

“They have seen through the greenwashing, where pledges have been made with little or no action,” he said.

The country elected 99 new Green councillors with several now either ruling, sharing power or as the main opposition.

“The old ‘wasted vote’ jibe is a thing of the past, especially across the North West,” concluded Lee.

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