Green Party Co-Leader Carla Denyer visits North Devon

The co-leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer visited North Devon last week to support three newly elected Green Party councillors, Mark Haworth-Booth, Sara Wilson and Ricky Knight.

She heard about how they are already getting stuck in to help their local communities.

In Ilfracombe, Carla swam at the historic Tunnels Beaches before visiting the Earth Repair Shop where she met local activists.
Ilfracombe Green councillor, Sara Wilson said: "It was so good to have Carla Denyer in Ilfracombe. As a local councillor I know the problems the town faces such as a lack of affordable rental properties for local families and deep cuts to services that support the most vulnerable. The projects run by the Earth Repair Shop show us what local people can do to strengthen their communities while doing their bit to help the environment".

In the evening, Carla held a well-attended public meeting at Barnstaple Library. She described her journey into politics from a wind farm engineer to a city councillor in Bristol where she proposed the first climate emergency motion anywhere in the UK and one of the first in the world. Since then, even the Westminster Parliament has declared a climate emergency.

Carla commented: "I am glad that so many councils and Parliament followed my lead and declared a climate emergency. But to have any impact this must be followed by meaningful action, which is why the role of elected Greens is so important. Electing more Green councillors locally and MPs nationally is vital to ensure that Parliament cannot ignore the climate crisis, so am campaigning to be elected as MP for the new constituency of Bristol Central".

Longstanding Green campaigner, Ricky Knight - one of the new intake of councillors - added: "Having Carla in North Devon helps us to focus on how urgently we need to tackle the environmental crisis. We don't have years to take the necessary action, so we need to implement practical policies that will make a difference to us locally, making our area fairer and greener. For example, I am championing energy efficiency and renewable energy on North Devon Council.”