William Relton & Simon Rebbitt, Green Party candidates for Brent Central and Brent North introduce themselves

William Relton making the case for  the Green Party in Willesden Green

My name is William Relton. I am honoured and delighted to have been selected as the candidate for the Green Party in Brent Central. This really is the most important election for decades. The timing is not right for a proper General Election on the broader issues concerning most people up and down the country, which is how a General Election should work. This election will be forever remembered as the Brexit election. Just as Caroline Lucas has been campaigning ever since the ’16 referendum, we really should have had a proper People’s Choice referendum before this election. However, Parliament, or at least the two largest parties, has decided that we should have an election now, so here we are.

This will be a very important election for the smaller parties. People have really begun to realise that our two party, first past the post system, just doesn’t work anymore. A total reform of our electoral system is urgently needed. A vote for the smaller parties is a step in the right direction towards Proportional Representation, a system that the vast majority of modern democracies use. The Lib Dems are still badly tainted by their record in the coalition government with the Tories. A vote for the Green Party will help support a movement for a fairer, cleaner, happier Britain. Please do vote for me, William Relton, Green Party, Brent Central on December 12.

Secondary school teacher Simon Rebbitt

My name is Simon Rebbitt. I am a secondary school teacher of History and Geography and the Green Party’s candidate for Brent North. I have lived in Brent for the last ten years and have taught in comprehensive schools in this community all that time. The things that are important to me I believe are important to all of us: the huge rents that stop people moving onto the property ladder, the general cost of living and especially transport costs. They affect me and they affect you too. First and foremost, as the representative for Brent I would want to make sure these concerns are known in Parliament. 

As a Green Party member, I care about the environment yes, but then again, I haven’t ever met anyone who doesn’t. We all want a healthy world we can leave for our children. That doesn’t mean banning all cars or forcing everyone to become vegans, it means finding workable solutions that can make us make positive changes to our lifestyles. But right now, the biggest distraction is Brexit. The leave result was a crude answer to a complicated set of problems championed by pandering politicians looking to advance their careers at the cost of everybody else. I first joined the Greens when I saw how impotently Corbyn tried to oppose the Leave campaign. The Green Party opposes division, it stands for unity, for the planet and for its people. I stand with them and for Brent now and for the future.

Voting in Brent? Read about your Green candidates before you cast your vote

Before you vote today check out your Green candidates:

John Mansook, Hampstead & Kilburn 
Twitter: www.twitter.com/johnmansook
Email: john.mansook@greenparty.org.uk



Shaka and John were both on Kensal 2 Kilburn Radio the other week with Gemma Dempsey and if you missed it, you can listen by clicking below 

https://www.mixcloud.com/ktokradio/the-green-party-visit-park-rise/

John Mansook had a good write up in West Hampstead Life (click the image to read the full article).


Also featured in that article is Poppy, your local super activist who also deserves a big thanks! 

Listen to John Mansook at the only hustings that occured in Hampstead & Kilburn
(As ever, you can click the image to listen!) 


South Kilburn is somewhere particularly struggling with challenges inflicted by Labour 

& where John received lots of positively for our Green message. 

To read more about what residents in 2014 described as social cleansing, click here: 
http://wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/granville-community-kitchen-submission.html



Check out what Rashid Nix, our Green candidate for Brixton says about 'regeneration' like that which has been occurring in Kilburn & why its important we vote Green to send a strong message to local government. 
(Click the image to watch the video)



Michaela Lichten is our Brent North candidate"

and finally to share with your family & friends (click the image!) 5 snappy reasons to Vote Green 

thanks to Osman Noor, campaigns coordinator of London Green Party. 



For the latest local and political news during election day & live from the count.
Visit Wembley Matters, you'll hear the news there first from both Camden & Brent counts. 


Wembley Matters is edited by Martin Francis (An officer of Brent Greens)
http://wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/

Kilburn Times on Brent Greens' General Election candidates

From Kilburn Times May 4th 2017

Introducing Brent Green Party's parliamentary candidates for June's General Election

Brent Green Party has selected its candidates for the General Election giving Brent voters a chance to vote for what they believe in, fresh voices in Parliamment and a different, principled, way of doing politics.

These are our candidates:

Shaka Lish, Green Party candidate for Brent Central

Shaka Lish has been selected to challenge Dawn Butler in Brent Central:

I am a life long Brent resident, conceived in Harlesden, born in Kilburn, grew up in Queens Park and now reside in Willesden. I wasn’t always political but like many, after the Iraq war I was left with so many questions about politics in the UK. Questions like, what makes democracy work for the people, not just the powerful? Since then, I have become more engaged with issues that I am passionate about and also more informed. Since the global crash in 2008, there has been a change in the world. What appeared at first as an opportunity to change the way we are living – address climate change, inequality and neoliberalism – has actually appeared tighten the grip of disaster capitalism. There comes a time when we have to stand up to be counted and take part in effecting the change that we wish to see in this world. By standing for the Green Party I believe I am doing just that. The local, to the national, to the global, are all intimately interconnected. We begin locally but this inevitably has echoes further afield.

I have been a professional singer pursuing a career in music since leaving school and been lucky enough to make music, travel the world and share my creativity on a platform. Although I still make music, I have nurtured another passion - for social justice and for helping others. I recently became a mature student and finished an undergraduate degree in Philosophy, Politics and History and currently I am finishing an MA in Traditions of Yoga and Meditation, at SOAS. Being lucky enough to get a grant to study, I know how enriching education is, so I am adamant tuition fees should be scrapped and that we should not create barriers to knowledge through eye-watering debt. Education is a social good for all.

My undergraduate dissertation was on the subject of climate change and it has been frustrating to watch how science has led the way but unfortunately our leaders have been slow to act. My priority would be to hold the government to account and to keep campaigning for investment in green initiatives, transport and technology.

I am passionate about community, the environment, equality, the NHS, animals and education. I often feel so inspired by what could be possible, how the country can be transformed for the good of all, not just the few. I see a country where we have clean air, renewable energy, we look after our environment, we care for the vulnerable, have meaningful and secure work and where everyone gets the opportunity to thrive and fulfill their potential. I know this is possible but I also know it can only be achieved together.

My local campaign would focus around these areas –

• Put pressure on the council to make commercial recycling mandatory, not optional.
• Campaign for more local cycling hangers – and for this to feed into a more coherent transport policy.
• Push for procurement of local land for community resources such as youth activities and allotments
• Create a plan that gives locals more power to decide on their dominant energy sources and scrap any disincentives to renewables.
• Strive for any new developments in Brent to be accompanied by appropriate services to sustain the growing population of residents – such as medical care, childcare, community resources and activities. Not just shopping facilities.

The opportunity to stand as an MP is humbling as it is a service to my community. Brent is a community that has given me opportunities and support and I would be proud to stand as a Green Party representative and spread the message to make sure people know, a better world is possible.

Email: shaka.lish@greenparty.org.uk

Michaela Lichten, Green Party candidate for Brent North

 Michaela Lichten has been selected to challenge Barry Gardiner in Brent North:

I’ve been a resident of Brent for over 30 years and am passionate about the built and natural environment.

So much of society is weighted against ordinary people and with the crisis in Housing and Education worsening, new and innovative solutions need to be found to halt further inequalities.

With Brexit now triggered The Green Party can ensure we don’t stop being Europeans. I’m proud to stand for The Green Party which has long been a feminist party, with policies including improved maternity services, quotas for women on boards and working with organisations to advance women's equality and employment opportunities. I’d strive to be a good constituency MP concentrating on local issues such as housing, schools, open spaces, pollution and the provision of good quality care for the elderly that doesn’t solely rely on the, often unpaid, contribution of the families of those effected. I’d work to provide better support for carers.

There are around seven million carers in the UK with 700,000 being under 18; I’d work to ensure that young carers and young adult carers are given vital support throughout their education. Having been a carer myself, for my husband who suffers from Alzheimer’s, I identify with the many carers that are over 65 and struggling with their own health issues and who deserve better support.I believe that it’s the duty of MPs to listen to, and be reachable by, the constituents that elect them. If elected I will work to raise the concerns of Brent residents with relevant Ministers ensuring a local influence at Westminster.

email: michaela.lichten@greenparty.org.uk

tweet: @michaelalichten

John Mansook, Green Party candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn

 John Mansook has been selected by Brent and Camden Green Parties to challenge Tulip Siddiq in Hampstead and Kilburn

I have lived in Brent all my life and I am also active in my community raising awareness and giving advice to residents. I believe because of my occupational and life experience I am able to identify and communicate with younger voters in Brent. I am aware of the issues such as poor health, pollution, crime, cuts to youth services and lack of affordable housing all of which affect the quality of life of all residents in Brent especially the next generation. My daily exposure to different groups such as elderly and disabled people has allowed me to gain a deep understanding of the impact cuts to funding has had on the quality of life for the most vulnerable society. This awareness has motivated and mobilised me into action.

I am a diabetes community champion and I attend community events to raise awareness about diabetes and to educate the citizens of Brent on health and wellbeing. I have also previously volunteered in Camden working with the Leighton Project as a swim buddy which helped disabled young adults overcome their fear of water and become self- confident in water and ultimately learn how to swim. I have also volunteered in Camden on health and activity awareness days promoting health and wellbeing within the Borough.

Greens thank Brent voters for their support

This letter was published in the Brent and Kilburn Tines today.  Thanks to all our members and supporters for their help during the campaign. We will be letting you know details of our next meeting shortly.

We are writing to thank all the voters of Brent who took the bold step of voting Green at the General Election for an alternative vision for our country based on a transformed economic system and a commitment to equality, social justice and human rights. In total 1,157,613 voted for us across the country and it is an indictment of the first past the post system that this got us only one MP, the amazing Caroline Lucas.

We would also like to thank the many people who wrestled with their consciences over whether to vote Green, on the basis of 'Vote for what you believe in', or to vote for the Labour candidate in order to prevent the Conservatives gaining a seat. We know from conversations, phone calls, Facebook postings and emails that this was a hard decision and one that is a product of our unfair voting system.

It is likely that the General Election outcome and its manifest unfairness in terms of seats versus votes will result in calls for a fairer voting system and we welcome this. Meanwhile the support we have received forms a solid foundation for the 2016 London Assembly and London Mayoral elections where every Green vote will really count.

The Green Party is not just a party for elections so we will continue to take part in the many struggles that will result from the election of a Conservative Government hellbent on further austerity, privatisation and dismemberment of the welfare state.

Shahrar Ali (Green candidate for Brent Central)
Rebecca Johnson (Green candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn)
Scott Bartle (Green candidate for Brent North)

Detailed Brent election results

Our thanks to everyone who voted Green in the General Election and to all those who helped with the campaign.  Clearly we were squeezed by the two main parties but the results provide a base for the GLA and Mayoral campaigns where we will have the advantage of a fairer voting system.

These are the detailed results:

Hear Scott Bartle, Green candidate for Brent North, on his approach to politics

The packed hustings was held in a beautiful but dimly lit church so please excuse the quality of the picture. Scott Bartle, our candidate for Brent North, sets out his approach to politics.

Scott Bartle selected to fight Brent North for the Green Party

Scott Bartle

Brent Green Party today announced that Scott Barttle has been selected to fight the Brent North seat for the Green Party in the 2015 General Election.
 

Scott holds registration as a positive behaviour psychologist and works within the NHS. He lives in Mapesbury Ward Brent, where he stood as Green candidate in the 2014 local elections and gained 8% - one of the highest results for an individual Green Party candidate in the constituency.

Explaining his decision to stand Scott said:

As a Cornishman raised in one of the most deprived areas of the UK and Europe I am acutely aware of the human impact that poverty can have as detailed in the ‘horror’ statistics. It was no surprise that the regional areas of Britain were increasingly turning away from the three main parties as they have experienced neglect since Thatcher, perpetuated by Blair, and continued by the coalition.

It was also no surprise that in Brent, one of the most deprived areas of London, we have people turning away from the UK government and mistakenly thinking that their values are represented by elements in Syria. When people are alienated from the society they live in, there is only so far that they can be pushed. It’s been said that the apocalypse won’t come like lightning, but gradually like a fog. Mostly, successive governments have managed to avoid the ire of the public in perpetuating the agenda of their corporate donors but the fog is starting to become visible around us.

Whilst this fog may be pollution, as our government is being taken to court by the EU for London’s  poor air quality - we know only the Greens will protect our environment.

When Labour started the erosion of civil liberties and now the Tories pledge to repeal Human Rights legislation – we need the Greens to lead the resistance. 

When Labour sought to channel public money out of the NHS through Private Finance Initiatives that we are still paying now – we need a Green to look at the long term.

As studies reveal 50% of people receiving social care in Brent feel unsafe, we need to stop allowing private equity companies to funnel profits off-shore when they’re failing in their primary duty – Greens care.

When our foreign policy, rendered inconsistent by our colonial past is still causing conflict across the world and giving cause to recruit people from our own communities – we need a Green to challenge that.

When the economic policy of ‘austerity’ advocated by Conservatives and Lib-Dems is an irreconcilable failure and Labour pledge to continue it  - the fog envelopes us. 

Nobody actually wants all of this – it’s why it is vital we look for an alternative. 

As Parliamentary Candidate for Brent North I will seek to highlight that Greens can provide something for people to vote FOR, rather than against – a real choice.

Through saying YES to Human Rights, YES to a consistent foreign policy, YES to Economic Change, YES to Public Services, YES to Environmental Action, YES to Green Jobs we are saying YES to a sustainable future for people, nature and wildlife worldwide

Thanks to all Green Voters

Willesden and Wembley Observer, May 20th 2010

Willesden and Brent Times, May 20th 2010