Success in the Hampshire County Council elections
Well done Greens in the County Council election of 6 May 2021. To have New Forest Green Party candidates standing in all 10 County Council divisions in the New Forest is an achievement in itself. But to then get 10.2% of the vote is quite remarkable. This percentage is almost double the 5.8% achieved at the previous County Council election in 2017.
This success shows how the electorate is starting to realise the gravity of the crisis the planet is facing with climate change and biodiversity loss.
Below are the Green Party candidates’ election results expressed in terms of percentages. The link to the full election results for the New Forest is www.newforest.gov.uk/article/2639/Election-Results-May-2021
| Council Division | Candidate | Percentage of vote |
| Brockenhurst | Kat Wilcox | 16.2% |
| Dibden & Hythe | Dominic Boddington | 5.1% |
| Lymington & Boldre | Verena Jolly | 8.2% |
| Lyndhurst & Fordingbridge | Janet Richards | 16.9% |
| New Milton | Jerry Fenner | 11.6% |
| New Milton North & Milford | Tony Law | 9.0% |
| Ringwood | Nicola Jolly | 15.1% |
| South Waterside | John Pemberton | 5.7 % |
| Totton North & Netley Marsh | Tim Rowe | 7.0% |
| Totton South & Marchwood | Callum O’Driscoll | 5.2% |
These results make it possible for New Forest Greens to seriously take up the challenge of winning a seat in the New Forest District Council election in May 2023.
Contributed by Tim Rowe
The Green Party gains nationally
The increased share of the vote in the New Forest is reflected in Green Party gains in council seats right across the country. Two thirds of the wins are in new seats.
Nationally, Greens have gained 99 new councillors on 18 councils for the first time. There are now 445 Green Party councillors putting forward green ideas on 141 councils.
Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party, says “We’re moving from being the biggest small party to being one of the big parties. We’ve been polling ahead of the Lib Dems in this election.”
In the London mayor election, the party’s other co-leader Sian Berry comfortably won third place, pushing the Lib Dem candidate into fourth. The London Green Party is also celebrating a breakthrough on the London Assembly electing Zack Polanski alongside exiting Assembly members Sian Berry and Caroline Russell.
In Bristol City Council election, Bristol Greens gained of 13 new seats, more than doubling their number of seats to 24, joint highest with Labour. At the same time, the party recorded its first ever second-place mayoral result in the election of Bristol’s mayor.
Caroline Lucas has been the Green Party’s only MP since winning Brighton Pavilion. The Green Party is now confident that the incredible gains in Bristol show the city is ready to elect a second Green MP.
Contributed by Mike Renouf and John Pemberton