Going Forward in 2009

by Christine McLaughlin

In the end there were fewer than 5,000 votes in it , but the Green Party won’t be representing the North West in the European Parliament yet. Despite a dynamic campaign that was well received on the streets and on doorsteps, in letter boxes and on the net, the Green Party came in at 0.3 percentage points behind the BNP.

The good news is that we increased our vote nationally by half compared to 2004. In the council elections, we gained 8 seats across the country, having effectively lost four before the elections began. In Manchester the Green Party finished ahead of the Conservatives in third place.

Although we are disappointed that Peter Cranie won't be representing us yet, we are a party of positive people – we’re not going to be crying into our cornflakes about this. We’re just going to work harder to bring information about our policies to ordinary voters so that they understand there is a real alternative. We’ll be out and about across Trafford to canvass your views so if you see us, please stop for a chat. If you’d like to help our campaign, please join us . You can find out more about our local campaigns here . We have some great candidates and we know that success is in our grasp.