4 May 2019
Congratulations to Councillors Simon Bull and Chris Rigby who won seats on the new Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council in a landslide win for the Green Party in Winton East in the local elections on May 2nd.
Simon has worked hard for the residents of his ward since he was elected as the first Green Party Councillor in Bournemouth in 2015, and you can see what he has been doing on our Bull’s Eye page. A summary of the achievements he has obtained for his residents can be seen in this short video. Residents have recognised this in their voting by not only re-electing him, but electing a second Green Party candidate.
The results for Winton East, a two-seat ward, were as follows:
Simon Bull (Green) 1385 (63.64% of voters) Elected
Chris Rigby (Green) 1198 (55.06% of voters) Elected
Pat Oakley (Conservative) 468 (21.51% of voters)
Cameron Adams (Conservative) 403 (18.52% of voters)
Cecilia Penn (Labour) 338 (15.53% of voters)
John Kingston (Labour) 328 (15.07% of voters)
Simon said "The result at the count on Friday was well earned and worked for. That doesn’t mean it was expected and it certainly was a surprise, not least for the size of the vote Chris and I received.
"This was the most intensive campaign that I have been involved in and I am so impressed by #TeamGreenWinton, the work put in by everyone involved, and the numbers of volunteers who when asked came out and helped.
"My thanks to the campaign team and all of you, not forgetting my thanks to the residents of Winton East who have resoundingly voted Green."
Newly-elected Chris Rigby was one of 400 climate change protestors arrested in London as part of the Extinction Rebellion campaign. The group demands the government acknowledges the ‘scale of the crisis’.
Cllr Rigby was among six Bournemouth protestors arrested during the first two nights of a blockade on Waterloo Bridge.
He told the Bournemouth Echo: “I do not take these steps lightly, but our politicians are not doing enough to react to the seriousness of the climate and ecological emergency we are facing.” (1)
He tweeted “Thank you to everyone who gave me your vote and put your trust in me. Can't wait to represent Winton East, and also get BCP to declare a climate and ecological emergency” while Simon tweeted "So pleased to have such strong support from the residents."
The Bournemouth Echo reported that “no party gains overall control of new BCP Council as Tories lose seats across the conurbation.
"Just a few weeks ago, the Conservatives had control of all three principal local councils in the conurbation, two of them with huge majorities. But at the end of March, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole councils were abolished and the new BCP created.
"Yesterday, the party lost seats across the conurbation as the Liberal Democrats, newly formed Christchurch Independents, Poole People’s Party and the Greens all made advances. The council is now hung with 36 seats for the Tories, 15 Lib Dems, 8 Christchurch Independents, 7 Poole People, 3 Labour, 2 Greens, 3 other independents, 1 Alliance for Local Living and 1 Ukip." (2)
A video of the results being announced, interviews with Simon and Chris, and the BBC South Today coverage can be viewed on Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
A big thank you to all our Green Party candidates who stood throughout the area. They all gained a very respectable number of votes, particularly in Boscombe East & Pokesdown, and Moordown, both two-seat wards, where our candidates came a very close third.
The Green Party also gained four seats on our neighbouring Dorset County Council.
Chris Williams, Head of Elections and Field Operations, Green Party, said
“Today has seen the best ever local election results in the 46 year history of the Green Party.
“I am so proud of our campaigners who worked tirelessly on the doorstep to inspire so many new communities to put their trust in the Green Party.
“In total we saw a net gain of 194 council seats and we now have a record number of 362 councillors on a record 122 councils.”
He went on to say “We have representation on over 50 new councils. That's 50 more towns, cities and districts that have a Green in the room changing the debate and changing the focus of their councils’
“Our wins have not been a fluke. Almost all of our gains are where not only did our members work hard, but where the Green Party invested resource to train and support our campaign teams through Conference training.”
You will be able to follow the activities of our two Green Councillors on our Winton East page.
Sources for the Bournemouth Echo
