Manchester Green Party has announced its candidates standing across Manchester for the local elections on Thursday 5 May where it will be contesting all but one of the available seats.
The party, which celebrated its first local election victory in Manchester since 2004 in the 2021 local elections, has also published its 2022 manifesto as it hopes to get more Greens elected to join Cllr Rob Nunney on Manchester City Council.
A total of 31 Green candidates will stand across 31 of Manchester’s 32 wards, including in Woodhouse Park, where Greens hope to gain a second seat in the ward.
Scott Robinson and Norm Cassidy, Co-Chairs of Manchester Green Party, said: “We are delighted to offer Manchester residents the opportunity to vote Green by standing 31 exciting candidates right across the city.
“We received the second highest number of votes of any party in Manchester in the 2021 local elections, which shows there is a strong appetite here for Green policies. We are confident that, over the next few years, we can channel that desire to become Manchester’s main opposition party in the council chamber.
“We hope that voters will embrace our vision of making Manchester a more equal, sustainable and enjoyable place to live. The time is now!”
All of Manchester Green Party’s candidates are standing on the party’s manifesto, The Time Is Now, which has been drawn up based on policies decided democratically by local party members.
This year’s manifesto outlines five key areas that Greens elected in Manchester intend to prioritise over the course of the year ahead. These priorities are:
- Treat the climate crisis holistically: Ensure that Manchester City Council’s commitment to tackling climate change and biodiversity loss is a holistic policy priority
- Make living more affordable: Tackle the rising cost of living by giving Manchester more affordable and energy-efficient homes, investing in the local economy, and calling for the introduction of a Universal Basic Income
- Transform Manchester’s transport: Give Manchester an integrated transport network which prioritises active travel such as walking and cycling, and public transport
- Improve health, welfare and opportunities: Ensure better public services, bigger arts and culture, and brighter prospects for life, while giving more Mancunians access to green spaces like gardens, playgrounds and parks
- Stand with Ukraine: Show solidarity with Manchester’s Ukrainian community and support the resettlement of all those fleeing conflict in Manchester
The Green Party’s best chance of gaining a second seat in Manchester is in the Woodhouse Park ward in Wythenshawe, where it won with 48% of the vote in 2021 – the only seat that opposition parties won in last year’s local elections.
Cllr Rob Nunney has been serving the ward’s residents since last May, and now his colleague Astrid Johnson is bidding to join him on Manchester City Council.
Johnson runs her own graphic design business working with the NHS along with many charities. She has been working closely with Nunney in Wythenshawe for almost four years now, and is keen to turn up the volume on local issues.
Johnson said: “When the Green Party won in Woodhouse Park last year, it showed how much residents felt they needed change.
“I’ve been campaigning with Rob in the ward for several years now, and I believe that as a team we are really making a difference.
“I would love to get elected to join Rob on the council. Together we can help Greens achieve even more in Manchester and give Woodhouse Park an even stronger voice.”
Manchester is one of four Greater Manchester boroughs with Green representation. In addition to one councillor in Woodhouse Park, the Greens have active councillors in Tameside, Stockport and Trafford, where it currently holds all three seats in Altrincham.
The Green Party currently has 447 councillors across England and Wales, two members of the House of Lords, three London Assembly members and one Member of Parliament.
Manchester Green Party’s 2022 manifesto The Time Is Now is available to view here.
The full list of the party’s 2022 local election candidates, along with their biographies, is available to view here.