AIBU to hope the greens do very well today?

[ForGreenHiker]

That’s it really. go Zack! 💚

I don't know very much about their 'Green' local policies sadly. I hear a lot about wars in faraway lands and LGBTQ+, but even less about potholes, my lack of a food waste collection and anti social social behaviour at the local playground.

I think lots of people (in England) will be voting Green because their local candidates seem reasonable/do good work in the community/want to prioritise the local environment/as the only way to keep out Reform etc - all of which seems entirely sensible. This should NOT be misread as support for the national policies or ZP - excellent description offered by Upstarted above (thankyou!)

Until Ed Miliband decides to build massive solar farms all over arable land even when locals don't want it? That sort of control?

Errr, okaaaaayyyy.........

It's good to see how many people get their education on political parties from tabloid newspapers and their algorithm then supports the bias they believe...

YANBU OP. Greens are not perfect by a large stretch, but the fact they're being smeared so much and their policies misrepresented shows they're obviously being seen as a threat by other parties....

I hope they do well in these local elections, even if it's just as a wake up call to the larger parties. Those saying Greens will be back for women, I really hope you're not voting for any of the parties on the right...

Has he clarified his stance on this?

To be fair, I haven't seen him being asked since late last year, when he was very adamant that he wants legalisation rather than decriminalisation.

I think they had some kind of discussion about this at the spring conference so there may be a clear policy in place now

I am deeply concerned by their rising popularity. I'm very much hoping that today gives us a different steer on the figures.

ETA - the policy on their website still seems to be dated 2019.

I don’t agree with many green policies, but they’re better than reform anyone is better than that so yanbu.

Really?! I’ve literally never heard anyone in real life express any opinion about them apart from how insane they are!
It’s a hard No from Me.

Good no, the Scottish Greens are absolute loon balls!

Not with that man in charge!

I always vote Green locally but I won’t now… and I’m vegan etc. He’s awful.

Are you mad? He’s a lying piece of shit who IMO is just after power, and is anti-Semitic on top. Plus IIRC he once stated that he thought a trans woman could grow a cervix, or some such nonsense.

The Greens used to be largely concerned with the environment. WTF happened?

All that matters is that people vote to make sure that reform candidates are shown the door. If that means voting Green in your area then that is what you must do.

I get so exasperated that local elections are turned into party political events and used ass a reflection of national politics, when people ought to feel free to vote for the person who will best serve their local community.

I usually vote green locally - and yes I know all about Polanski - but she is brilliant; totally involved in this farming community, takes up local causes, is always there when needed. Why should she be penalized for his stupidity when she is doing a great job; and why should we lose her excellent services just to give Polanski a bloody nose?

It is the media who want to use these local elections as a national barometer when that is not really what it should be about.

But in any event we have not been given the chance to vote round here.

Did you know Zack Polanski is not his real name @ForGreenHiker ??

It's David Paulden.

I'd be interested to know why he changed his name.

Hold on. Who are you to tell anyone how to vote.

@Mischance "But in any event we have not been given the chance to vote round here"

different councils have elections at different times

Or have I missed something? I know Starmer tried very hard to cancel some local elections but I thought that was overturned in every area.

The modern Green Party are deplorable. A far cry from what they used to be in the past.

Ignoring the practicality of those policies, none of them are relevant in today’s election. None of these issues can be addressed by your local councillors.

Which of their policies are you voting for locally?

This. ^ 'Voting Green is what we MUST do.'

PMSL no thanks. I'd rather vote for Reform.

Actually I'm joking!!! I wouldn't, because they're both as bad as each other. As the old saying goes '2 cheeks of the same arse!'

I have voted Green previously, as they were actually focused on environmental issues.

Their policies are deranged impractical and I think ZP is as dangerous as Nige being equally charismatic and extreme.

However, I don't have any vote today and my councilor is a brilliant local independent lady, long may she represent me. But in a general election I would be totally stuck. I would LOVE there to be a sensible centre-left science-literate environmental party.

Agree. David Zack is just the new Jeremy Corbyn. And I couldn't stand him either!

I am left leaning by ethos and very interested in environmental issues, so the Greens really ought to be my party, but they're so left as to be almost extremist and many of them, the leader included, are stark raving mad to the extent that they're dangerous IMO.

This election has me worried and I've been looking at stats and onsidering how my vote can be best used to keep Reform out, but if I had to choose between the two, I'd vote Reform before Green, although it would be a very bitter pill to swallow.

Let’s see if you practice what you preach: which right-wing broadsheets do you read to keep your own info environment unbiased?

OP- why would you vote for them?

Greens do well and Labour lurches left, taxes go up and economy gets even shittier.

I agree with a pp from another thread who summed up the current Green party and Reform party as two cheeks of the same arse. Polanski, like Farage is a very able manipulator of curated content, where challenged in interviews he tends to fall back on attacking the questioner and struggles with their own policies.

The closer scrutiny being applied to someone potentially electable has seen his popularity rating plummet over false claims, and fudgey policies which are poorly thought through and not costed.

The one subject I never hear him speak on is the environment. Its all clickbait about magic solutions which will be paid for by a magical someone else. Pretty much the same as Reform.

I have voted Green at times in the past, I think now they are as divisive and hate based as Reform.