Green Candidate in Brentford & Isleworth Withdraws
Party says Ruth Cadbury has made pledges on voting system and environment
Dr Diane Scott, the Green Party's candidate in Brentford and Isleworth, will not be contesting the seat in the forthcoming General Election.
Hounslow Green Party has announced the Chiswick resident has withdrawn after 'important commitments' were obtained from Ruth Cadbury who is defending the seat for Labour. This follows the announcement by the Greens in Ealing Central and Acton that they would not be putting forward a candidate against Rupa Huq. Nomination papers for candidates have to be submitted by 4pm today (11 May).
Dr Scott said, “The Green Party can’t win in Brentford and Isleworth this time. If I stood we would split the progressive vote. This is a very close seat where the Labour majority in 2015 was only 465, much less than the Green Party vote of 2,120. This election is very important because the Brexit deal will determine the quality of life for all of us. We don’t want to see a brutally hard Brexit agreement accompanied by a watering down of environmental and other protections. We don’t want to see EU citizens forcibly repatriated from this country. We have made a one-off decision to stand down and support the only party that can stop a hard Brexit. In this constituency Joe Bourke of the Liberal Democrats got only 2,305 votes last time, and he can’t win this time."
She says that the Green Party have obtained important commitments from Ruth Cadbury on proportional representation and the environment but that this in not a full strategic alliance with Labour at this stage. They are hoping that their 'tactical decision' to stand aside will encourage an alliance of the progressive parties in the future. All the members of the local party were balloted on this decision in what they describe as an open, transparent and inclusive process.
Dr Scott thanked all those voters who voted Green in the past and apologised to voters who wanted to vote Green this time and now can’t.
The Greens say that Ruth Cadbury has made them a number of commitments including to support moves to introduce proportional representation and specific commitments on work that she will do on climate change. She has also promised to continue opposing Heathrow expansion and to campaign on air pollution.
According to the Greens, Ms Cadbury has said that she would also like to see Labour stand aside for the Green Party in Brighton Pavilion and the Isle of Wight.
Daniel Goldsmith, who stood for the Green Party in this seat in 2015 said, “Diane would have been an excellent candidate and raised important environmental issues. I have been impressed with the work of Ruth Cadbury as an MP. She has campaigned hard against the third runway and air-pollution. As a keen cyclist I appreciate her work on cycling, where she is co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group. I admire her commitment as a Quaker to achieve non-violent solutions to political conflicts. I will be lending my vote to Ruth this time, as the only candidate who will fight against a hard Brexit.”
Earlier this week senior Liberal Democrats suggested that voters in Ealing Central and Acton should choose Rupa Huq over their candidate. They are not believed to have made similar statements about the Brentford & Isleworth constituency.
Joe Bourke, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Brentford & Isleworth commenting on tactical voting said, "Our democratic system relies on voters being given a choice of parties. It makes a mockery of voters’ decisions when parties stand aside – as though your party’s voters belong tribally to your own party and should be directed to whichever party you wish. Standing aside as a candidate diminishes the democratic choice in that seat. Yes, you can encourage tactical voting – but that is an individual voting choice not something forced on voters by a candidate withdrawal."
We have asked Ruth Cadbury for comment.
| Brentford and Isleworth Constituency - Result 2015 | |||||
| Candidate | Party | 2015 Result |
2010 Result |
% | Change |
| Ruth Cadbury | Labour | 25,096 |
18,064 |
43.8 |
+10.2 |
| Mary Macleod | Cons | 24,631 |
20,022 |
42.9 |
+5.7 |
| Richard Hendron | UKIP | 3,203 |
863 |
5.6 |
+4.0 |
| Joe Bourke | Liberal Democrats | 2,305 |
12,718 |
4.0 |
-19.6 |
| Daniel Goldsmith | Green Party | 2,120 |
787 |
3.7 |
+2.2 |
Majority |
465 |
0.8 |
|||
Turnout |
57,502 |
67.8 | |||
May 16, 2017