Trevor Bisdee writes ‘I’m really pleased that for the first time the Green Party is standing a candidate in every one of the sixteen Wards across the Borough, giving people who want to vote green the opportunity to do so. We offer people a different type of politics – a change that is increasingly recognised as important and necessary.
I was elected to Paddock Wood Town Council two years ago, and have seen the struggles people are going through as I walk the streets in my job as a postie. As a former police officer I have a background in dealing with difficult situations where I had to negotiate with groups of people holding different views, and that has stood me in good stead in council meetings, as I’m sure you can imagine!
I am pleased to say that together with a fellow councillor and the estates manager, we have developed a plan that will see several hundred trees planted in the area, starting next year; it will be a legacy for the future. But I have been very unhappy with the Town Council’s lack of influence on the amount of new housing planned around the town, and also with the LibDem-led Borough Partnership allocating another £850,000 of Council Tax-payers’ money to try and make the flawed Local Plan acceptable to the Government Inspector, apparently without fundamental changes to the excessive use of Green Belt land.
I want to represent Paddock Wood West and ask the important questions of the Town Council. Why does the Town Hall have such a high staff turnover rate? Why is so much money being spent on external consultants? Why aren’t councillors delivering on the climate emergency declaration they voted for?
Having been a member of the Green Party for many years I have seen us grow, and also seen other parties react to our growth.
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I was pleased to see that a year after the Green Party adopted “for fairer, greener communities” as its slogan for the 2022 local elections, Hugo Pound (Times, 5th April) was promising the same for Tunbridge Wells from Labour.
And indeed, here in Paddock Wood West I’m hearing lots of people on their doorsteps saying they are willing to put past loyalties to one side, and lend me their vote to make sure they get a strong voice on the council. The Greens have always been well received in Paddock Wood, and it’s sad to see yet another LibDem bar chart come through the door which could give the innocent reader the impression that only they can save the ward from the Conservatives – the truth is the LibDems were last in five of the last six elections here, and only got 50 votes last year.
I’m running a straight and honest campaign in my quest to make the transfer from Town to Borough Councillor at this election, and I urge anyone who shares my concern about the loss of our green spaces to support me.’