Dear Green Party executives, supporters and members,
I appreciate this is an extremely busy time to be in politics but I beg for a moment of your time as a frustrated member of the Green Party.
My whole adult life I have voted Liberal Democrats and fiercely challenged anyone who said that mine was a wasted vote. I was disheartened then in 2010 with their decision to go into alliance with the Conservative party, a party who's policies and values I fiercely oppose. I wrote to every Liberal Democrat MP saying I would never vote for them again and that my trust for them had been destroyed. In the run up to the 2015 General Election I joined the Green Party in my constituency of Somerton and Frome and was delighted that they were the third best represented at the ballot.
When Theresa May announced a snap election earlier this month I attended a meeting in Frome from disconcerted members of the constituency that were concerned about a divided left come June 8th and the potential impotence against a Tory incumbent that took significant gains in 2015.
The meeting was explicitly a-political but about throwing aside tribal preferences and egos to unite against a common 'enemy', for want of a better phrase.
The harsh - and for many unpalatable - reality that came out of that open discussion was that the only realistic chance of unseating our Tory MP would be to unite behind the Liberal Democrats who by far are the second best represented at the ballot box in this constituency. Many of us - including Green Party members - felt that given more time a Progressive or Unity candidate could be proposed but given the short timescales this was simply not going to be possible.
I was disheartened then to hear that the Green Party would be putting forward a candidate within Somerton and Frome which could essentially hand the seat to the Conservative candidate. I implore the Green Party to reconsider putting a candidate up for election in this constituency - this is sadly not a time for egos and party or tribal allegiances.
Given the time scales available this is a time to vote with your head not your heart, to choose tactically. And maybe, just maybe, if we can persuade enough people that there is an alternative to the Tory government; an alternative to five more years pursuing a Hard Brexit and economic reform favouring the better off in society; then we have a chance this coming June.
Kind regards and with respect and hope,
Cole Henley
@cole007
[email protected]