We are
obviously disappointed not to win any seats, or for that matter
finish second in any constituency. However, we've made some steady
gains in a number of London seats and with 22% in Brighton Pavilion
and 11% in Lewisham Deptford, we've continued to build on our
platform of locally elected politicians. What is clear to me is
that many of the 1 million + voters who supported us last year in a
Proportional Election have plumped for the "least worst option"
instead of voting Green.
George Galloway's high
profile and remarkable victory over Oona King is the headline of the
night, but it is Respect's results in East and West Ham (either side
of the 20% mark) that are undoubtedly impressive and have
particularly caught my interest. There is certain to be strategic
discussion within the Green Party about what this means for Green /
Left political relations. I've already started this process on a
political newsgroup as a way of finding out the views of grass root
activists.
Greens stood in over 200
constituencies and we have shown significant increases in vote share
in the majority of these. We've retained a decent number of deposits
and on a personal note, I achieved a very respectable 5.5% in
Liverpool Riverside although I was disappointed that we failed to
overtake the Tories. A full analysis of the results will have to
wait until the County Council results come through. This is where we
expect our steady local progress to continue.
