Worcester Green Party has chosen its candidate to fight the next general election here in Worcester.

Ruth Stafford was selected at the party’s Annual General Meeting on Monday (15^th January). She lives and works in Worcester. She shops locally and works locally; her job involves encouraging schoolchildren to bike or walk to school. She is an active member of the local Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace groups. 

Ms Stafford was previously local party contact and media officer with Montgomeryshire Green Party. She stood as Green Party candidate for Battenhall ward in the elections to Worcester City Council in May 2006, gaining 9.6% of the vote.

She succeeds Chris Lennard, who represented the Green Party in Worcester at the 2005 general election, scoring 921 votes.

At the selection meeting, Ruth Stafford said:”I am particularly concerned about the effects our modern transport and shopping habits are having on our health, environment and well-being. These are the main issues I will campaign on, both before and during the general election.

“Green transport policies put disabled people and pedestrians at the top of the hierarchy, followed by cyclists, public transport, access for freight and finally cars. Thanks to high levels of traffic, pollution in Worcester city centre is much higher than is safe to breathe, affecting all who live, work, study and shop in Worcester. And they are a major cause of climate change.

“This is not just a question of transport, but also of planning. Facilities should be accessible to all who need them without excessive travel. We need to support local businesses in Worcester and more facilities should be provided locally, not in distant developments using up green fields outside communities.”

Worcester Green Party fielded a ‘full-slate’ of twelve candidates at last May’s city council elections, gaining 11.5% across the city, and beating the Conservatives into third place in Rainbow Hill ward.

Said Ms Stafford:”Judging by our rising share of the vote here in Worcester, more and more local people are fed up with the other main parties, and are turning to us in ever larger numbers. People now have an alternative to the ‘business-as-usual’ policies of the other parties, a party that has social justice and sustainability at its heart – the Green Party.”