The party’s new councillors are Tor Pingree in Riverside and Louis Stephen in St Peter. Campaigner Clare Wratten achieved second place in Rainbow Hill and Fort Royal, missing out by just 26 votes.

Councillor Matthew Jenkins said “I’m very pleased to see Louis and Tor elected. We will be better able to hold the county council to account and to try to right some of the wrongs that have occurred over many years under the previous administration. Action is urgently needed to address the crises in education for children with special educational needs and disabilities, social care and the cost of living. We also need far quicker and more effective action on biodiversity and climate, as this has been seriously held back by a lack of understanding and willingness to respond appropriately under the Conservatives. With an increased Green group on the county council, we are now in a much better position to be able to make change happen.”

Louis Stephen “I’m very grateful to the residents of St Peter for putting their faith in me as their new county councillor. There is a lot of work to doand I look forward to being able to support and represent them. As a group, Green councillors on Worcestershire County Council will do everything we can to tackle the problems facing our communities and try to ensure that the new arrangements coming into place for local authorities are handled as smoothly and transparently as possible so that Worcester residents are not negatively affected.”

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The party has put forward a full slate of candidates for each of the county divisions in the city for the council elections taking place on May 1.

Two candidates – Matt Jenkins in St Stephen and Andrew Cross in Warndon Villages – are standing for re-election.

Mr Jenkins has stood successfully for election three times and first took his seat in 2013.

He said: “I’m very much looking forward to more Green colleagues joining the Green and Independent Group Alliance at Worcestershire County Council.

“We have a great set of candidates who would make excellent councillors.”

The Greens have enjoyed a successful few years in city council elections and have increased their representation on Worcester City Council from four seats in 2021 to 12 in 2024.

St Clement city councillor Tor Pingree, who won her seat from former Conservative city council leader Chris Mitchell in 2023, was re-elected last year and has been campaigning in the Riverside division.

She said: “I hope that residents will put their faith in me again, some of them for the third time, and that I have proven myself as a hard-working councillor.

“I am excited about standing for election in the Riverside division, as it is an area that I have known my whole life, so it would be a real privilege to be able to represent everyone in the area.”

In Rainbow Hill and Fort Royal, the Green candidate is Clare Wratten, who lives in the division and can be seen out regularly door-knocking, litter-picking and taking part in community activities.

She said: “I was inspired to stand for election because I feel that we need responsive and active county councillors who really listen to residents.”

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Zack Polanski, deputy leader of the Green Party, visited Worcester today (March 8) to help conjure up support for councillors in the upcoming county council elections. 

Mr Polanski spent the day door knocking, visiting businesses such as Pack it in and Spin the Black Circle before going to the Terabi Mosque on Lowesmoor. 

A Worcester News Reporter met with the deputy leader of the Green Party whilst he was door knocking with Clare Wratten (The Green Party candidate for Rainbow Hill and Fort Royal at the upcoming Worcestershire County Council elections).

Mr Polanski, deputy leader of the Green Party, said: “What I have found from talking to people here today in Worcester is that they are tired of their old politics.

“They feel disillusioned with 14 years of conservative underinvestment in public services, and what they were expecting from a Labour government, something different and what I’m hearing a lot is people are very disappointed. So people are naturally looking for alternatives. 

“Worcester has been a very important place for the Green Party for a long time and the Worcester Greens have been increasing their representation. In terms of the county council it would be really good to see some more greens in the room.”

Mr Polanski and Clare Wratten also stopped by the Guildhall to meet stall holders celebrating International Women’s Day. 

He added: “Renewable energy is going to be a huge part of moving away from oil and gas.

“We know we both have a climate crisis but also people’s bills have also been shooting up and rocketing up even more and that’s because of our reliance on fossil fuels and actually, we know that renewable energy is 8x cheaper than the old model.

“Where solar farms go is going to be a case by case basis and our preference is always going to be on brownfield land and to use old car parks and yes sometimes that will also involve building in places that will sometimes be unpopular but crucially we need to make sure that we are working with residents and with communities. We need to make sure that there’s proper consultation so people know that they have been heard and consultation rather than just notification.”

(Worcester News 09/03/25)

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The move received cross-party criticism because Councillor Geraghty had not consulted councillors and had only spoken to the county council’s Chief Executive before writing to the minister. The city council was also not informed. The Council Leader claimed that there had not been time to discuss the election postponement with councillors.

Leader of the county council’s Green and Independent Alliance Group, Councillor Matthew Jenkins, said “It’s good news that the request to postpone elections was turned down. This would have been highly undemocratic. The request strongly suggests that the Conservatives are worried about losing seats at the May elections and were trying to avoid this by taking away people’s ability to vote councillors out in May at the end of the term for which they were elected.”

“The current Conservative administration is a failed one. It has proved disastrous on social care and education for children with special needs, it has set an incredibly weak target of 2050 to reach net zero and it hasn’t even managed to take care of its own building properly. The elections present an opportunity for competent, responsive councillors to be elected, who will seek and take into account residents’ concerns about what form the new council will take. Proposals need to be beneficial to local businesses and they must ensure that climate and biodiversity are prioritised. It’s also vital that it works with the city council going forward.”

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Dr. Chowns, one of the party’s 4 new MPs who won her seat in July, talked about the work she carried out in her constituency and the campaign that led to her becoming an MP. She also spoke about some of her experiences and impressions of Westminster over the last six months.

Previously a Member of the European Parliament, Dr. Chowns described how seeing the difficulties faced by people in her local community motivated her to move from being a local Councillor to standing for election nationally. She talked about the challenges of reaching out to people in such a large area and about successfully building a big support base.

“Gaining the trust and support of people across North Herefordshire and working for them been a hugely energising, rewarding process. It was great to discover that most people want a greener, more positive world.”

“I’ve been really proud of our party in Parliament and we have been able to speak out where others are reluctant to do so. It’s so important to be those voices holding the government to account.”

Councillor Tor Pingree said “It was good to hear about Ellie’s campaign and everything that she has already achieved in Parliament. It is very impressive that she has already spoken in Parliament more than 50 times! She has also supported 180 Early Day Motions, on issues ranging from the effect of Post Office closures on communities to condemnation of the average 21% rise in water bills. Hopefully voters will be taking note of how hard our Green MPs work.”

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It was a good night for the Green Party locally with us winning our first MP in the region with Ellie Chowns winning in North Herefordshire.

The Green Party will continue to push the Labour Party to take the bold steps we need to tackle the climate emergency as well as to put in the investment we need in schools, hospitals and care for the elderly.

Campaigns start now to build for future elections. If you want to join us, please contact me!

Cllr Tor Pingree.

The post Thank you for voting Green appeared first on Worcester Green Party.

All the candidates for election were invited to take part, and Mel Allcott spoke for the Liberal Democrats, Marc Bayliss for the Conservative and Unionist Party, and Tor Pingree represented the Green Party. Tom Collins was due to be present as the Labour Party candidate but unfortunately had to withdraw on the afternoon of the debate.

The event, attended by over 230 members of the local community, was chaired by King’s Headmaster, Gareth Doodes. Members of the audience were invited to ask questions, submitted in advance and chosen at random before the event, giving the candidates an appropriate opportunity to prepare their responses. Mr Doodes opened the evening by reminding the panel and the audience of three of the School’s key values: while recognising the political ambition of the candidates, we should respond with humility and kindness should abound.

There was a wide range of questions, exploring issues such as Climate Change, Independent Education, Brexit, standards in public office and the National Health Service. Lively debate followed the candidates’ response to each question, from a wide range of political and social viewpoints. The event concluded with each candidate being given the opportunity to explain why they would be the best choice to represent Worcester.

Headmaster, Gareth Doodes explained, “It was an honour to host the candidates.  We were delighted to champion democracy, and encourage discussion and debate amongst pupils, parents, staff, and the many members of the public who joined us.”

The largest pre-election hustings to be held in Worcester, this was an enlightening and thought-provoking evening, enjoyed by all who attended, and excellent preparation for voting on the 4th July.

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Millions of people in our country are feeling insecure and deeply worried about the future.

We live in one of the richest countries on the planet, yet nurses are using food banks, our children’s schools are crumbling, a roof over our heads is all too often unaffordable, and hospital and dentist appointments are like gold dust.

Meanwhile, the climate emergency continues to accelerate. Scientists warn that we are currently on track for global temperatures to rise by at least 2.5°C, far beyond levels at which humanity can safely survive.

Our promise to you is that all this can change. We can create a greener, fairer country together – one in which we are all safer, happier and more fulfilled.

It will take MPs prepared to make brave, principled choices on your behalf. And it will take the kinds of policies set out in this manifesto, for which elected Green MPs will fight hard every single day for you.

Voting Green on 4th July is your way of showing you believe a fairer, greener world is possible – and is worth fighting for.

Read more.

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Cllr Louis Stephen, Green Group Leader said, “This meant that Labour took for themselves the three most important leadership positions, Leader, Deputy Leader and Chair of Policy and Resources Committee.”

Worcester’s Green Party is celebrating its highest ever number of Green Party councillors, increased from 11 to 12. Greens say this is a “vote of confidence” in the work of Green councillors and candidates in the city.

City-wide, the Green Party won the largest vote share in the city (the so called popular vote) but the overall result is that the city council remains in No Overall Control. No party won more than 50% of the seats.

The Labour Party remain the largest group on the city council with 17 councillors and the Green Party are the second largest group with 12 councillors. Leaders of the Green Party offered to work with Labour to create a collaborative council.

Cllr Louis Stephen, Green Group Leader, says, “We believe that as the city has put no individual party in overall control, it is critical that all parties work together to run our city in line with how residents have voted. It’s disappointing that Labour have now rejected that offer and have instead taken for themselves most of the council leadership positions of Leader, Deputy Leader and Chair of Policy & Resources. In a further blow to partnership working Labour also denied the Green’s main request to continue in our successful Chairing of the Environment Committee.” 

Cllr Karen Lewing, Deputy Green Leader, says, “It’s disappointing that the Lib Dems decided to back Labour taking both leadership positions. It’s clear that the Green Party is now the main opposition on the council. We’ll continue to support good ideas but will not hesitate to hold Labour to account when they make poor decisions.”

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The Green Party and the Liberal Democrats also gained seats as all 35 councillors were elected on the same day for the first time in the authority’s history.

For the full list of results click here.

Here is how each of the major parties reacted.

Labour- ‘A minority administration is possible’

Labour were the biggest winners of the day, gaining four seats to leave them with 17 overall- just one shy of a majority.

The city’s Labour group also held on to all the councillors who represented them during the previous administration.

Coun Lynn Denham, joint leader of the council before tonight, told the Observer a minority Labour administration could be possible but wouldn’t be drawn into making any commitments on the route forward.

She added: “I’m thrilled, all our Labour councillors have passion for the city, skills, and knowledge to bring to our party and this council.
“We now need an opportunity to reflect on what has happened and celebrate our massive achievement.
“Undoubtedly on the doorstep people have been saying they’ll vote for anybody but the Conservative’s and even lifelong supporters want to get rid of this government and all they represent.”

Read more here

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City-wide, the Green Party won the largest vote share in the city (the so called popular vote) but the overall result is that the city council remains in No Overall Control. No party won more than 50% of the seats.

The Green Party is ready to meet with other parties to discuss how to best represent the way Worcester residents voted this week. Louis Stephen, the new leader of the Green Group, said “As the city has put no individual party in overall control, it is critical that all parties work together to run our city in line with how residents have voted. Greens are ready to work with councillors across the political spectrum in a collaborative manner to achieve the best outcomes for our city. But today, I would like to thank all residents who voted Green in these elections. We are truly humbled by the record high level of support, thank you!”

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Voters will elect a PCC on Thursday, May 2, the same day as the local elections.

West Mercia is the fourth largest geographic police force area in England and Wales and covers three counties – Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire.

Telford and Wrekin Council is the authority in charge of administering this year’s West Mercia PCC election and will be responsible for declaring the eventual result.

Shropshire councillor Julian Dean is the Green Party candidate.

“If elected I would resist further cuts to our critical police service in Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Telford & Wrekin,” he said.

“This would send a message to the government that our communities need better support to feel safe and secure, and that officers need to feel supported, resourced and valued to do the best job they can.”

(source: www.worcesternews.co.uk)

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