Usually these sites would direct people to vote for the party that can beat the Tories or Reform UK, but they consider this race to be clearly unwinnable for both parties. This makes it safe for those thinking about voting Labour to vote Green.

The Green Party came second in the most recent Barking by-election in November 2024, held in Northbury ward.

Barking also voted heavily for the Greens in the local elections in 2022, with the party placing second in Abbey ward.

Mark Whiley, Coordinator for Barking, Dagenham and Havering Green Party, said, “Next Thursday, voters will have a choice of more of the same from Labour, neglecting our town, or a hard-working local Green in Paul David Powlesland.

We will be fighting for every vote to prove that Labour cannot get away with pricing people out of Barking, ignoring badly needed housing repairs, leaving our streets in a state as they cut the street cleaning budget, or seeing pension funds invested in fossil fuels or those complicit in the genocide in Gaza.”

You can volunteer to help Paul and the Greens below or donate to our fundraiser.

• September 13, 2025: 13th September - Green Picnic and Thames View Action Day
• September 14, 2025: BDH Young Greens Launch

The post It’s Paul and the Greens or Labour in Thames View appeared first on Barking, Dagenham & Havering Green Party.

The Green Party also stood for the first time in Village ward in Dagenham, with both of our candidates taking just over 6% of the vote.

Coordinator of Barking, Dagenham and Havering Green Party, Mark Whiley, said, “This is our third second place result in Barking and Dagenham and Havering. We’ve now come second in both Northbury and Abbey wards in Barking. This is a testament to the hard work of our candidates, activists, and those who placed their trust in us this time for real hope and real change.”

Northbury Green Party candidate, Simon Anthony, received 161 votes for a 16.56% vote share. The vote share was slightly higher than the 13.7% Simon received in the General Election in July 2024, although with a much lower turnout – as is often the case with by-elections.

Village Green Party candidates, Kim Arrowsmith and Tope Olawoyin received 103 and 97 votes respectively for a 6.5% and 6.1% share.

The post By-election Results: Greens second Place in central Barking appeared first on Barking, Dagenham & Havering Green Party.

Thanks to those that attended our Rally with staff unions on September 4th. The subsequent meeting saw our petition accepted by the council. We also learnt the following:

• Decisions won’t be halted – The HRA are not willing to halt the consideration of library closures and are adamant that a decision is made before the end of the year or shortly afterwards.

• Multi-use options are on the agenda – Council Officers have been tasked with coming up with alternative proposals, and the motion that passed after HRA amendment explicitly stated that they would consider “multi-use venues for existing council services”.

• HRA members believe their group won’t close libraries – Cllr. James Glass said that “I do believe that we will not close a library”. Cabinet members such as Cllr. Graham Williamson picked up on some of the ideas floated by campaigners including housing atop libraries and consolidating assets (multi-use). This could be uncomfortable if the new Cabinet Member for Libraries, Cllr. Gillian Ford, concludes that their group needs to push for closures.

• Opposition is united against closures but attendance is poor – 8 councillors did not attend the meeting, including 5 Conservative councillors. The Residents Association do not have a majority, so every vote at council meetings counts.

It’s expected that reports will come to a meeting of the Council’s Cabinet on December 11th.

WHAT WE CAN DO

Pushing alternatives to closures

Until the end of the year, we will continue to push alternatives to closures, working with opposition councillors, staff unions and the press.

As well as multi-use options, we have previously suggested that a proposal could be made to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, as with Swiss Cottage Library, for necessary library building repairs and reducing energy costs. The government opened Phase 4 last week and applications can be made until November 25th.

Sharing your stories on why libraries are important

We need to keep libraries in the news. Personal stories about the help library staff have given you, warm spaces, summer reading challenges, offering refuge and respite, inspiring you to take on a new career… email me at greenparty@markwhiley.com what they’ve done for you and let us share these stories widely. Please include a picture and explicit consent for us to use them.

A favour: 60 SECOND SURVEY TO RATE YOUR COUNCILLORS

If you’ve got 60 seconds or less, please complete our survey on how you are represented by your councillors. We also have a question for you to tell us what local issues you feel need tackling.

Many thanks,

Mark Whiley

Promoted by Mark Whiley on behalf of Barking, Dagenham and Havering Green Party, both at PO Box 78066, London, SE16 9GQ.

This page is sent as a link by text message. You’re receiving that message about the campaign to Save Our Library Service as your phone number was given to our petition. Your data is handled in accordance with data protection regulations. At any time you may request your data be removed or to no longer receive messages.

The post Libraries: What’s happening? appeared first on Barking, Dagenham & Havering Green Party.

The September full council meeting will see five petitions presented to the local authority and Havering Residents Association cabinet member Paul Middleton, including the petition of the Green Party, and a motion against library closures.

Mark Whiley, campaigner in Squirrels Heath ward said, “We believe that the cost to the community of permanently losing library services and a community facility is not worth a small saving out of the council’s total annual budget. Libraries provide study spaces, warm spaces, a place for connection, places for a wide range of community activities, places access knowledge or be inspired or to lose yourself in other worlds.”

“Many of us across the political spectrum have come up with ideas for new revenue sources, for covering the cost of building works, and to make these libraries fit for the future.”

Havering UNISON and Unite have helped in the organisation of the rally which looks to be attended by library users, staff union reps and political campaigners across the political spectrum.

You can RSVP to the Rally for Libraries here: https://actionnetwork.org/events/rally-for-libraries.

The post Greens call Rally for Libraries appeared first on Barking, Dagenham & Havering Green Party.

• Consistently been in the press – both the Havering Daily and Romford Recorder
• Knocking on hundreds of doors with our Save Our Library Service petition and setting up an online petition this month for Gidea Park Library at www.bit.ly/gidealibraries
• Promoting public consultations through street letters to local residents
• Attending a rally alongside members of Havering UNISON at the first public consultation at Havering Town Hall
• Attending a second rally at Harold Wood Library alongside local school children and councillors
• Putting questions to Leader of the Council, Cllr Ray Morgon at a public consultation

Our appearance at the Town Hall Rally was livestreamed by the Havering Daily, interviewing three of our campaigners: Angelina Leatherbarrow, Mark Whiley and Ruth Kettle-Frisby.

Link: https://www.facebook.com/thehaveringdaily/videos/499031082589382

Romford campaigner and library worker (in another borough) Angelina Leatherbarrow told the Havering Daily, “You cannot underestimate how vital libraries are, and typically local authorities talk about the cost of everything and the value of nothing”. Angelina spoke about the role libraries play as a community hub, in youth intervention, as warm spaces, as social spaces, as study spaces, and as public spaces without cost.

Mark Whiley, campaigner in Squirrels Heath ward, spoke about libraries as places “where families and their kids are going to enjoy community activities, read stories, and they’re vital community hubs for us”. Mark spoke further about their role in bringing communities together, particularly after the pandemic, and also about the Green’s plans to fund essential works to library buildings using either developer contributions, specific government grant schemes, or colocation with other services.

Ruth Kettle-Frisby said that access library services “cross boundaries” as they’re used by those of all classes and all backgrounds. “The arts are so important for our children, and for elderly people, and for everyone in-between. I think arts and culture can make all the difference to a person’s mental health, wellbeing and sense of belonging”.

Help us campaign against library cuts

We’ll be continuing to attend public consultations, organise rallies, deliver information to residents, and to get new signatures on our petitions.

If you’d like to help, please contact Mark at greenparty@markwhiley.com.

The post Momentum builds behind Save Our Library Service Campaigns appeared first on Barking, Dagenham & Havering Green Party.

1. Electoral reform
Our campaigner Ruth Kettle-Frisby talks to the Havering Daily about disillusionment about the choices on offer in the recent General Election, that only 20% of residents within the Romford and Hornchurch and Upminster constituencies voted for their respective MPs, and the case for electoral reform.

Link: https://thehaveringdaily.co.uk/2024/07/17/todays-labour-are-barely-distinguishable-from-the-tories-in-their-policies

2. Ballot Bins
Our campaigner Mark Whiley spoke to the Romford Recorder on the case for and against ‘Ballot Bins’, a quirky way to nudge smokers into binning their cigarette butts, instead of having butts all over our streets and in our drains.

Link: https://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/news/24445199.ballot-bins-trial-come-havering-clean-cigarette-waste

3. Libraries
The print edition of the Romford Recorder covered the Green Party campaign to Save Our Library Services extensively. We had Green Party posters visible on the front page of the Recorder at the Town Hall protest, and our campaigner Angelina Leatherbarrow was quoted in the lead story. Additionally, Mark Whiley’s letter on options that the administration could consider to save libraries was printed in the letters page.

The post This Week, In The Press: W/C July 15th appeared first on Barking, Dagenham & Havering Green Party.

Barking, Dagenham and Havering (BDH) Green Party also had a fantastic set of results across all four constituencies within our party area.

• In Barking, we came less than 200 votes from second place, and ahead of the Conservative Party.
• In Dagenham and Rainham, we saw an almost 10% swing towards the party.
• In both Hornchurch and Upminster and Romford, the party saw vote share increases that set us up nicely for the 2026 local elections.
• We kept our deposits in all four parliamentary constituencies.

The BDH Green Party would like to thank all those that voted, donated and campaigned for us in the recent sets of elections.

Special thanks also goes to local party Chair, Melanie Collins. Simon Anthony, Green Party parliamentary candidate for Barking said, “I wish to give public recognition to Melanie Collins who not only was a candidate but also acted as the election agent for all four candidates in Barking and Havering.”

You can volunteer for us or join the Green Party from £6 a year at join.greenparty.org.uk.

The post BDH Green Party respond to fantastic General Election results appeared first on Barking, Dagenham & Havering Green Party.