“The fight-back starts here”: Torridge Greens reflect on election campaign
The Green Party had a disappointing result in Torridge as Reform UK took the Bideford East seat on Devon County Council.
However, wins elsewhere in Devon mean the Greens have gone from two county councillors to now having six – and could hold the balance of power as no other party has a majority.
The Greens had hoped to win in Bideford East but came third, just 17 votes behind the Conservatives.
Party activists also said they’d been cheered by the support they received on doorsteps when canvassing for candidate Huw Thomas, who is already a councillor on Torridge District Council.
Reform won in Bideford East with 1,117 votes, with the Tories on 637 and the Greens on 620.
Reflecting on the results, Huw said: “The Green Party is now the clear choice for voters who are turned off by the divisive, backward-looking policies of Reform and the Tories, and who want a better future for people and the planet. The fight-back starts here.”
He added: “Other parties tried to use this election as a re-run of last year’s general election, but Greens kept the focus on Bideford and north Devon, and on the things a county councillor can actually do. People rightly don’t trust politicians who promise what they can’t deliver.”
One of Councillor Thomas’s main election pledges was to be a strong voice for the area ahead of the Westminster government’s planned reorganisation of local government in England.
“Labour want to sweep away existing district and county councils and would leave northern Devon run from Exeter by a new unitary authority responsible for half a million people,” he said. “But it’s not too late to argue against that. We need to fight to make sure Bideford and Torridge aren’t forgotten about.
“We also need to turn the microscope on Reform. Their candidate never said what he’d do if elected. Let’s find out what they’re going to do for the people of Bideford East and other parts of Devon. Will they make a difference or just continue to blame others?”