Local Lib Dems and Greens have made a reciprocal electoral pact for the
Council elections on 2nd May. Each party has agreed that, in
certain wards where the other party has more chance of gaining votes, they
will not stand a candidate, or only one candidate in a three-seat ward.
In announcing the agreement, Nigel Whitburn, Chair of the local Lib
Dems, said: "Our two parties feel obliged to make this arrangement in
view of the fact that local, county and national elections still use the First
Past The Post system, which has resulted in gross distortions of the
vote.
"For example, in the last local elections in 2015 the Conservatives
got only 39% of the vote overall but 79% of the seats; the other parties
(Labour, Lib Dems, UKIP and Greens) got 61% of the vote but only 21% of the
seats. This is clearly an outdated and unrepresentative system, which both
Lib Dems and Greens have opposed for many years."
Pat Marsh, Coordinator of local Greens, commented: "We
regret that our agreement means that in some wards our supporters won’t have
the opportunity of voting Green. However, we urge them to vote for Mike Sole in
Nailbourne, who proved his green credentials when he was previously a
councillor."
"Far more councillors from ‘progressive’ parties are required on
Canterbury City Council to make it truly representative of voters in the
District," added Mike Sole.
"That’s why we're employing the only tactic open to us to try to
achieve better representation," commented Alex Stevens, Green candidate
for Gorrell. "We hope for voters’ understanding and cooperation in
this," he added. "And in the meantime we continue to
campaign for proportional representation for future elections."
