Greens decide not to stand a candidate, Tories yet to choose

The Greens have decided not to stand a candidate in the general election but to concentrate their efforts on next May’s local elections. Meanwhile the Tories have yet to officially decide who will replace Amber Rudd, and the Brexit candidate withdraws. Nick Terdre reports.

Hastings Green Party has decided not to stand a candidate in a general election “in the current political circumstances,” nor will they enter into “any kind of deal, pact or alliance with any other party,” or endorse any other party. They will instead concentrate their efforts on next May’s local elections.

That is in contrast with their stance in the 2017 general election, when they made an agreement with Labour not to put up a candidate in return for undertakings by the Labour candidate Peter Chowney that, if elected, he would support electoral reform and oppose any new runways at Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

The small Green vote can be expected to be divided between Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

“In the Green Party – unlike in other political parties – decisions are made by the membership,” said spokesperson Andrea Needham. “In this instance, members voted not to stand a general election candidate. We have made no deals or alliances with any other party, and will not be endorsing any other party or candidate.

“The party will instead be focusing on its campaign for the 2020 Hastings Borough Council elections. We urge all voters who want to see real action taken to tackle the climate emergency to vote Green in the 2020 local elections.”

In last year’s local elections, the Greens came close to electing Julia Hilton in Old Hastings, after the Lib Dems agreed not to stand a candidate in the ward.

While Chowney has been confirmed as standing for Labour and Nick Perry for the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives have yet to choose their candidate, according to Cllr Rob Lee, leader of the Tory group on HBC.

Rumours denied

Rumours that the name in the frame is that of Sally-Ann Hart, a councillor for Eastern Rother on Rother District Council, have been emphatically denied by her.

“I can assure you that [this information] is wholly inaccurate,” she told HOT, though adding that she would “definitely be applying” when the selection process begins.

Hart also confirmed that she is a staunch Brexiteer: “I campaigned for Brexit in Hastings and Rye. I believe in the sovereignty and independence of nation states and fundamentally, in democracy; I want the people who impose legislation on me and the British people to take responsibility for those laws and account to us for them,” she said.

“There are many things that I believe do not work in British interests as a result of our membership of the EU but, referring to Hastings and Rye specifically, the EU Common Fisheries Policy virtually destroyed Hastings and Rye’s fishing communities, which have historically formed the soul of these towns. Bringing back control over our waters will bring back a pride in Hastings and Rye and revitalise their souls, strengthening communities.”

Brexit Party withdraws

Whoever the Tories choose as their candidate, they will not find themselves in a contest with the Brexit Party, whose designated candidate Tom Bewick says he will no longer stand in Hastings & Rye. Bewick – a Brighton & Hove councillor who defected from Labour in May – was selected for Hastings & Rye when local MP Amber Rudd, a Remainer, was expected to seek re-election.

His decision to move elsewhere would make sense if the Tories were committed to standing a Remainer, which would allow them to maximise their support among Hastings Leavers, who had a majority in the Brexit referendum of 2016.

In 2017 the seat became a marginal when Rudd squeezed home by just 346 votes over Chowney. Having resigned her ministerial post and given up the Tory whip in September, she has now said she will stand elsewhere as an independent Conservative.

A general election in the short term appears inevitable given that prime minister Boris Johnson lacks a majority in Parliament. The legislative programme he proposed on Monday has been taken by opposition parties as essentially an election manifesto.

 

This article was amended by Nick Terdre on 17 October 2019.

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