Your part in the Green success story After months and weeks of campaigning, we were all delighted to see four Green MPs elected to parliament and a massive show of support for all our local candidates. And we want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to every one of you, for your support.  From voting, to putting a poster in your window, to walking miles in all weathers to deliver the Green message! There have been tens of thousands of leaflets delivered across Arun and Chichester, hundreds of Vote Green boards on gateposts and in gardens, and innumerable Green conversations with our neighbours, friends and colleagues. They all helped, they all count – thank you Adrian! All of the feedback was incredibly positive, and given us great confidence to build on for future elections. Next stop: West Sussex County Council elections in 2025! Please sign up here, if you’d like to get involved. Local results We had three excellent and energetic local candidates. How did this translate to votes? In Arundel & South Downs we received over 5,500 votes and 10.1% share. Compared to 2019 this vote share is up 6.1%, the biggest increase of all the major parties (Conservative -20.2%, Lib Dems -1.0%, Labour +2.2%). In Bognor Regis and Littlehampton we received over 2,000 votes, which was a 4.6% share. This was an increase in vote share from 2019 of 1.3%, despite tactical voting locally. In Chichester we received over 1,800 votes and 3.5% of the total vote share. Although this percentage is slightly down compared to 2019, this was a target seat for the Lib Dems who campaigned hard for tactical votes.  A message from Carol, our Bognor Regis and Littlehampton candidate: “A big thank you to everyone who voted for me. With 4 Green MPs elected to get a Green voice for you in Parliament every vote will support them. Myself and many of our local members have helped to achieve this, I have been in Brighton and Suffolk. With almost 2 million votes it shows the support for the party and the clear need for a fairer voting system in the UK.” -min.jpg) A message from Steve, our Arundel and South Downs candidate: “Heartfelt thanks is extended to all those who have supported the Arundel & South Downs Campaign in recent weeks. Your exceptional efforts with leafletting, putting up boards, canvassing and making financial contributions led to Greens more than doubling any previous vote share in this area. This is a fantastic platform to build on. County elections next year will allow us to develop our presence across the constituency even further. Your support will allow Greens to speak up with an even louder and growing voice for social equality and environmental protection. Thank you all for the faith you placed in me. It was a truly humbling experience and I will continue to speak up on your behalf and on behalf of nature at any level of local authority to which I am elected. Thank you all.”  A message from Tim, our Chichester candidate: “Thank you so much to the Chichester voters who supported the Green Party in this election. The local Green party put a tremendous amount of work into the campaign and members’ support and donations made it possible to fight a full campaign. I was proud to be your candidate and to meet so many party members on the doorstep. It was really motivating to have such a strong Green Party manifesto to speak about: I could see voters getting excited about Green policies for transport and the NHS as well as new policy ideas for the climate. Our nearly 2 million Green votes across the country sends a clear message to the new government that we want them to be bold, think big and do better for the environment.” An invitation to you… Please come to a party to celebrate our achievements and thank our wonderful Green friends and supporters on Sunday 14 July from 1pm. Did you vote (or want to vote) Green on 4th July? Then PLEASE JOIN US this Sunday. You (and any partners, friends and family) are all invited to a Green celebration from 1pm till the evening at Humphrey’s Homestead, Greatham Road, near Pulborough, RH20 2ET. This will be a potluck picnic so (if it’s easy) bring a vegan or veggie contribution (there’ll be some food provided along with tea, coffee, soft drinks and maybe a bit of fizz). If the weather’s good we’ll be on the lawn. If it’s not, we’ve got use of the library and we’ll build a roaring fire. If you play tennis please wear trainers, we’ve got rackets and balls. If you can manage a dip in an unheated pool bring your cossie (we’ve got towels).  We’ll be celebrating our incredible Green results this May and July right across Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire (as well as nationally) and, most importantly, EVERYONE who helped made these extraordinary results possible in whatever way – even by just voting Green, putting up a poster or being a member or supporter. So many of you put in such hard work. Others stood as non-target candidates or donated or wished us well or put up a poster or a board. You ALL helped and you are ALL welcome to join us for the day or just an hour or two on 14th July. No obligation to RSVP or to join us. If you can’t make it or something comes up, we’ll miss you but there’ll be a next time. Can’t wait to see you!!! More detailed directions here: The What3Words location is: shots.loudness.covertly. If coming by train the nearest station is Pulborough, and we can pick you up. Any questions please call Claudia: 07970 813248. Events After the excitement of the General Election we want to keep the Green momentum going! Over the coming months we’ll be getting our positive Green message out to as many local people as possible. Can you help? Our councillors, members and volunteers will be delivering leaflets, distributing 60 second surveys, and canvassing across all our wards. If you can help, please sign up here. Monday 15 July, 7.30pm. Green Party General Election celebration event. Online on Zoom. The national party recognises that many of you gave up weekends, weekdays and booked holiday to help all across the country. In addition to our local celebration (see above!) they are hosting an an online party to celebrate our collective win. They hope to be joined by at least one of our exceptional new MPs, and there will also be an opportunity to chat to members from across the country in smaller breakout rooms. Sunday 28 July. Beach clean and meet-up in Littlehampton. Join The Beach Cafe on their monthly litter pick along the coast. Meet at 9.30am by the shack, where the grabbers, gloves and bags are all provided. A member of the Beach team will lead the clean. And / or join us for a coffee afterwards, from around 11am. To attend with other Green Party members, please contact Sarah. If you can, please plan your journeys on public transport. If you are able to offer / require a lift share to any of the events, please contact us. Next branch meetings: Wednesday 7 August, 7pm on Zoom. Click here to RSVP. Monday 9 September, 7pm on Zoom. Tuesday 8 October, 7pm on Zoom. Wednesday 6 November, 7pm on Zoom. Can we help you? Want to join us? Have skills to share? Keep in touch with your local Chichester and Arun Greens Join the party: join.greenparty.org.uk Ask a question: contact@chichesterarun.greenparty.org.uk Keep up to date: Find us on Facebook, You Tube, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter)  Help us grow: We rely on one off donations or regular standing orders to help us cover the cost of our local campaign work. If you can help out, please click here or follow the QR code. All support is very gratefully received. Please include your last name and postcode as a reference, so we know who to thank. A big thank you again to everyone working so hard on the Green campaign! |