by KEN HUGGINS
on behalf of the Green Party in North Dorset

WHAT a lively few weeks we’ve had, with plenty of jubilation and joy tempered with disappointment and dismay. Mixed emotions for pretty much all of us, with a dramatic round of local council elections followed by a coronation carried out with typical British pomp and circumstance.

While the coronation was disliked by some, the local election result was disliked by everyone in the Conservative party. ‘Disappointing’ according to Rishi Sunak, but nevertheless he intends to plough on with what he claims are the people’s priorities. The election results suggest the people disagree.

The coronation was certainly disappointing to everyone who believes in the democratic right to peaceful protest. The police waded in to prevent any hint of dissent, using the new powers given to them by the Conservative’s Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Act that became law last year, and the Public Order Act that was given royal assent just days before the coronation. People simply standing peacefully, with placards expressing their view of the monarchy, were swept off the street. Such was the police enthusiasm that they even detained a bystander and several Westminster Council volunteers who were handing out rape alarms.

The regret expressed by the police for some of their actions will be judged against how they use their new anti-democratic powers in future. The Conservatives claim the legislation is necessary to stop protesters from disrupting the lives of ‘ordinary hard-working people’, but it looks more like an authoritarian means of silencing opposition to government policies.

Nothing is going to disrupt all our lives more than the changing climate, which is rapidly growing increasingly extreme due to global warming, and the continuing depletion and gross pollution of our environment. The time is coming when all of us, environmental activists and protesters included, will regret not having done more to force the Government to take the actions needed to protect our collective future.

The local council election results reflect the electorate’s view of the past 13 years of Conservative rule. The Green Party’s surge in popularity has been most welcome, with a record number of councillors elected, up from 281 to 481, including 33 new councillors in the South-West. This reflects the growing environmental concerns of most of us. The Office for National Statistics reports that climate change is the second biggest concern for 75% of adults in the UK, which shows just how out of touch the government is.

While we look forward to the next general election, regrettably the lack of proportional representation will inevitably mean that the result will continue to reflect the wishes of vested financial interests, media barons and wealthy donors, rather than the general population.