My name is David Mount and I am standing as the Green Party candidate for the Chapel and Hope Valley electoral division in the county council elections on 4th June 2009.
I am standing for the council, because – like many people – I am concerned about the future. I firmly believe we need to take steps now to tackle the environmental disaster the world is facing. Time really is running out. While we can all contribute by making small changes in our lives, what is really needed is strong leadership and commitment from all levels of government.
I am standing as a Green Party candidate because I believe the Greens offer a positive way forward. Greens want to reorganise the way we run the world, putting people and their environment first. Safeguarding wildlife is an important plank within this wider agenda.
For all my working life I have been concerned with environmental and social justice – recognising that the world’s resources need to be used and developed in a fair and sustainable way. We are now at a point where we can only do that by making radical social, economic and political change from local to global levels.
What is the national agenda for the Green Party?
At a national level, Greens are pressing our government to adopt far more challenging Green House Gas targets, and then to implement policies to ensure they are met. At the same time we need to tackle the inequalities in our society. It is staggering that – in the sixth richest country in the world – 7.5 million working age adults are still living in poverty – an increase of 800,000 since 1998.
How can the County Council help with this?
Derbyshire County Council should be leading in terms of justice and environment, not just following national government targets. The council is a major provider and employer in the county and as such needs to improve its own environmental performance.
One or two Green Party councillors could make a real difference in Derbyshire. It is quite likely that no one party will have an overall majority in the new council – and this would be a great opportunity for the Greens to have real influence on decisions about people, the environment and the county’s wildlife resource.
Voting Green at the local government elections will also send a clear message to politicians working at all levels that the electorate want real change.
Our wildlife will be in the front line if we fail to address the challenge of climate change. The environment and landscapes of Derbyshire face no greater threat. A vote for the Green Party is one way to start to face up to this challenge.
