So with Sian Berry, Carla Denyer, Adrian Ramsay and Ellie Chowns representing us in Westminster, it’s a great time to build on this momentum and get together to discuss all things Green in Brentwood and Chelmsford.

Luckily we don’t have to wait long as our next meeting is this coming Wednesday 24th, starting at 7.30pm! We’ll be meeting at a new venue this month: Hey Joe, the independent record shop now in new premises off Crown Street, at:

10 Ropers Yard, Hart Street, Brentwood, CM14 4FU

And we’ll also be on Zoom for those that can’t attend in person, with the Zoom link mailed to our email subscribers.

What an exciting time to be a Green – come along and join us this week in Brentwood!

Among items on the agenda we’ll have:

• Election 2024 review and discussion
• New members since election day
• Annual GPEW conference 
• August summer social 
• Possible Chelmsford ward by-election 
• And anything else you’d like to raise!

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This month we’re meeting in Brentwood on Wednesday June 26, from 7pm, at The Peasants’ Revolt on Kings Road – handily between the station and High Street.

And you’ll hopefully get the chance to chat with the local constituency candidate, alongside meeting up with fellow Green members and supporters ahead of the July 4 poll.

Hoping to say hello on the night will be RJ Learmouth, our candidate in Brentwood and Ongar; although sadly Reza Hossain, our candidate in Chelmsford, is unable to attend this time.

All members and Green supporters will be very welcome to join the political chat and add their thoughts to our Election discussions!

The post Come and meet up at pre-election Green Drinks appeared first on Brentwood and Chelmsford Green Party.

And Paul, who is our local party Treasurer, encouraged anyone from our area who can follow suit to head to the target seat to help Adrian’s campaign in its crucial final stages.

“To my knowledge Waveney Valley is an unusual constituency as it crosses county boundaries, North Suffolk and South Norfolk. It is largely rural, with few large towns,” said Paul.

“Diss, probably the largest, and on the main London to Norwich rail line, has a population of c.10,000. It is a new constituency created by the boundaries commission after the recent review.

“I met Adrian soon after I joined the party in 2011, at a council by-election in Norwich and he recruited me to the campaign team for the 2014 European Elections in Eastern Region, which, to a significant extent, kick started my involvement in the party.

“Close to a hundred members arrived at Diss to door knock and/or deliver leaflets in the town and surrounding villages and hamlets. In recent years the party has gone from strength to strength in this area. It currently is the majority group on Mid Suffolk District Council and has recently won a seat on Norfolk County Council in South Norfolk.

“With postal votes likely to be delivered to households this week, it is important to make contact with as many of these voters as possible in the next few days. For those not involved in active politics, the purpose of canvassing is to identify those who either will vote for your party or who are quite likely to vote for the party; it is not to try to convert people.

“On the whole the reception was very good. A number of residents said we were the only party they had seen. The number of Green posters around the town was encouraging, but I have no doubt that there are plenty of silent Tories, whose votes are still up for grabs. In the village I visited in the afternoon, it was a straight Tory vs Green contest. A number of people insisted that they could never vote Labour, but were disillusioned with the Tory Party and recognised that we were the party campaigning against the polluting of the local river and opposing the proposed installation of pylons from Norwich to Tilbury.

“Waveney Valley is one of our four target seats  in England, and my sense is it will be close. There’s just over two weeks to go in the campaign and every conversation and every vote will count.

“The more members of Brentwood & Chelmsford Green Party and Eastern Region Green Party who can attend between now and polling day, the more doorstep conversations & the more leaflets that can be delivered, the better. This is a fun day  with likeminded people, working towards getting our first MP in the East.”

To find out more about the Action Days coming up in Waveney Valley and to sign up see:

https://actionnetwork.org/campaigns/adrian-ramsay-for-waveney-valley

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The ‘Meet the Candidates’ event, will take place that Monday evening at Old Brentwoods Club in Ashwells Road in Pilgrims Hatch north of the town centre, with RJ able to discuss Green policies for the election with the other constituency candidates.

“This is a unique opportunity for the constituents of Brentwood and Ongar to meet all six candidates at one time and to put questions to them, so it should prove to be popular,” said Chamber chairman Colin Barber.

There will be informal networking at the bar from 6:30pm, with the formal part of the event commencing at 7pm.

The event is open to everyone in the Brentwood and Ongar constituency. There is no charge to attend the event, but the Chamber do ask you to register in advance at: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/brentwoodchamber

The post RJ to take part in Meet the Candidates hustings appeared first on Brentwood and Chelmsford Green Party.

Reza, who has lived in Chelmsford and worked in the NHS for the past 20 years and did his training to become a GP in the city, said: “I can see that the NHS has been in crisis for the past 10 years. We know we now have the longest NHS outpatient waiting lists for the past 25 years.

“And we have people waiting for many hours when they attend A&E too. I have personally seen that people can wait 9-12 months to see a specialist in Chelmsford as well, after they have been referred,” added Reza, who now works in the community as a local GP at Little Waltham Surgery, and as a community dermatologist in Mid-Essex. He will be standing for Brentwood and Chelmsford Greens in the General Election on July 4.

“I am so happy that the Green Party of England and Wales wants a Fairer, Greener society. I think that people should vote Green. The Green Party is so important because we believe in preserving social health care.

“And the Green Party will be campaigning for the extra funding for the extra staff that the health care service desperately needs.”

Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay, parliamentary candidate in the new Waveney Valley constituency on the Norfolk/Suffolk border, backed up Reza’s comments by saying: “Labour is offering fantasy plans to end the NHS crisis. It wants to pay the private sector more, make existing staff work longer hours and squeeze more patients into overcrowded wards.

“Waiting for growth, won’t cut waiting lists. You can’t seriously reduce the waiting lists, or build a health service for the future, without raising the money you actually need through fairer tax, as well as tackling the profit motive.

“Greens will be unveiling our practical solutions that offer real hope and real change, support staff and invest in facilities to defend our NHS.”

The post Green Party can tackle NHS crisis says Reza Hossain appeared first on Brentwood and Chelmsford Green Party.

After last week’s announcement of the General Election for July 4, RJ said: “I’m looking forward to offering voters in Brentwood and Ongar a credible alternative to the old parties.

“The Green Party offers a transformative and hopeful vision of what our country can be; a fairer and greener society, where people have financial and energy security, where people can lead happier and healthier lives in a good quality and affordable home, and where the reality of the climate emergency is given the urgent attention it needs.”

RJ, who grew up in South Essex and works in Brentwood, added: “Greens across the country are already representing their communities and working honestly and collaboratively for the common good.

“We can have representatives who bring this kind of hard work and integrity back to public office, and this is what I offer. I want to put the urgent needs of our community back at the top of the agenda.

“If you share these values, I urge you to vote for and join the Green Party, and support our mission to build a fairer and greener country.”

RJ’s comments were echoed after the election was called by Green Party co-leader and parliamentary candidate for Waveney Valley, Adrian Ramsay, who said: “We are ready. Across the country people will have the chance to vote for a Green candidate offering voters hope and practical solutions to the cost-of-living crisis, supporting people into warm, affordable homes, protecting our NHS and cleaning up our toxic rivers.”

Ramsay added: “We are offering the common sense, affordable policies that will dramatically improve our quality of life. More Green MPs in Parliament will hold whoever forms the next government to account, and make the other parties confront the challenges our country faces. Together, we can make the change.”

The post Back bold Green vision for Brentwood and Ongar appeared first on Brentwood and Chelmsford Green Party.

Reza Hossain has already been selected as our candidate for the Chelmsford constituency for the election following an earlier process.

We look forward to the Election finally being called, and being able to campaign for both Reza and RJ.

The post General Election candidates selected for Brentwood & Ongar and Chelmsford appeared first on Brentwood and Chelmsford Green Party.