What defines a candidate as Green?

Local Politics
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#1

Having recently been browsing Twitter, I couldn’t help but notice that Keith House includes Green in his bio, as follows-

“Lib Dem Council Leader. Green. Internationalist. Traveller.”

Its not just Keith. Other candidates profiles also mention the colour Green.

So I guess my question to the candidates is -
What defines you/the Eastleigh branch of your party as Green / best for Eastleigh’s environment ? Or is it just put out there for easy political points?

And to the voters -
What environmental improvements can you see possibly be done in Eastleigh over the next 4 years following the local elections?

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#2

This is very difficult to quantify. I would say look for those who support environmental causes and make changes in our own lives to benefit our communities. Personally, I have not been on an aeroplane for many years as I prefer to holiday locally and support local businesses and our economy. I make sure I recycle and stay up to date with what materials are appropriate for each receptacle. I made sure that all our literature is recyclable. I feel passionately about protecting our Green Spaces. I am sure there are other candidates who could claim to be Greener, and I support them in their endeavours. I care about our Environment, but I also care about many other things affecting our community.

#3

I am personally not convinced by the use of the term ‘green’ like this. What does it mean?

If you drive a car at all, can you call yourself ‘green’?

If you use public transport, can you really call yourself ‘green’? Some Extinction Rebellion protesters do not seem to think so: Tube protest was a mistake, admit leading Extinction Rebellion members | Extinction Rebellion | The Guardian

If you buy from Amazon or order home takeway deliveries, are you green? Or is it greener to go to your nearest purpose built, heated (and in summer, air conditioned) shopping centre in your own car or by public transport? We can’t all own allotments and it is not always practical (or, for some, possible) to cycle everywhere.

Is it greener to live in a new build constructed on the green belt (but which is energy efficient) than to live in a poorly insulated old house in a town centre with a wood burner?

It goes on and on.

The point is: I don’t think life is ‘black and white’ enough for one to be able to say that they are definitively ‘green’. It is complicated.

On a personal level I do things in moderation. I recycle whenever I can and use my own two feet (keeps my waistline down after hours of sitting at the computer!). I don’t buy loads of new clothes every year because, well, I don’t need them particularly (football shirts excepted of course, although they look better on the wall than on me as the years go by).

On a wider level, I believe innovation is the answer. We have the capabilities in this country to find technological answers to our challenges. In my view, the key is to offer incentives to seek answers, rather than to always succumb to the quick and easy ban.

Alexander Culley
Reform UK candidate for Eastleigh North (Hampshire County Council) and Eastleigh Central (Eastleigh Borough Council)

#4

There’s no straightforward answer to this question. Essentially, regardless of how green you define yourself as, the systems of capitalism and globalisation we find ourselves inherently tangled up in means that one could virtually label anyone who refers to themselves as green as a hypocrite. From my perspective, the notion of being considered green boils down to the notion of knowledge and action.

Many people are uneducated with regard to how green they are or how great their carbon footprints are. However, if you are informed and do as much as you can to address those anti-ecological aspects of your existence, then I think it’s fair to consider yourself green. On the other hand, if you are informed but choose not to take appropriate actions to negate a negative impact on the environment then in no way can you consider yourself green. For example, if you push through and vote for an airport expansion it is laughable to consider yourself green. To then call yourself green in a social media handle is green-washing and quite frankly is utterly contemptible.

Ben Parry
Green Party Borough Candidate for Fair Oak and Horton Heath

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#5

Anyone know why there isn’t a green candidate for Eastleigh Central?

#6

There isn’t a Green candidate for 85% of Eastleigh (rough number).

Only Fair Oak (@BDP ) and Hedge End North are fielding a Green.

Maybe Ben can provide more information as to why. But the Greens aren’t too prominent here

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#7

Thank you Darren - just intrigued to understand why this is the case. Thank you for asking Ben to help further - much appreciated

#8

Hi Melanie!

We only have a small group that meet regularly, despite growing national membership. Therefore, we only have a small pool of possible candidates. Places like Bishopstoke we don’t stand because we feel a great deal of affinity with the Independent candidates and their policies, and we don’t want to negatively impact on their votes. Furthermore, we like to stand in wards where we live and have a connection to rather than being an ‘out of town’ candidate with no emotional or communal anchor to the area.

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