Many thanks to all those who voted for me yesterday in the Knowle local election. I obtained 465 votes, which is 15.6% of the total cast - the highest Green vote to date in this ward.
I wasn't far behind the Conservatives (17.4%) and Labour (21.6%), though Lib-Dem Chris Davies was a very clear winner with 45.4% of the vote. Congratulations to Chris Davies on his win.
The Green vote in Knowle is very much on the up now. Between 1995 and 2003 Greens achieved approx 4.5 to 5.5%, with the exception of 7.27% in 1999 (the last time I stood in Knowle). My fellow Green Graham Davey, who has often been the Knowle candidate, achieved a great 14.02% in 2006, tripling the % vote. I'm very glad to have added further to this with 15.6% and it is encouraging for future campaigning here.
I'm absolutely gutted and very upset that we extremely narrowly missed out on getting our second councillor elected in Southville however. I must admit to shedding tears, not something I've done about elections before, when I first heard the full result - Green candidate Tess Green lost by just 6 votes, despite her great efforts and those of her team. Labour lost in Southville in 2006 when my fellow Green, Charlie Bolton, become Bristol's first Green Councillor, winning by just 7 votes. What we did to them they have now done to us. Some might say this is poetic justice, though I think not given the nature of the campaign run against us by some.
On a positive note the number of votes cast for Greens in Southville went up and the % vote was almost the same as when we won in 2006. Across Bristol Greens came second in 4 wards (Ashley - only just over 100 votes from winning, Cabot, Southville - just six votes from winning, and Stockwood). Greens achieved over 20% of the vote in 5 wards, 15-20% in 6 wards and 10-15% in 3 wards. With an average vote of approx 15% where we put up candidates the achievement is very good, showing a strong upward trend in support.
