On Saturday, the leader of the Green Party, Adrian Ramsay, went canvassing in Suffolk in what is his new constituency. East Anglia Bylines were the only media there to talk to him.
Walsham le Willows is as pretty as the name suggests. A comfortably affluent-looking village of colour-washed houses and mossy churchyard walls, it’s an old village virtually free of new housing, commuters or the kind of abrupt money that brings with it gravelled drives and smart cars. It is about to become part of the new Waveney Valley parliamentary constituency.
But though the natural landscape is unchanging, the political landscape of Suffolk may be about to become unrecognisable. Like the rest of rural Suffolk, it has always been a safe Tory fiefdom, and until recently, it remained unthinkable that this might ever change. The new constituency will be fought on behalf of the Green Party by Adrian Ramsay, one of its two national leaders. (The party eccentrically always insists on two.)
The Greens and everyday practicalities
Ramsay was part of a mass canvass on Saturday, a smart young man in brogues, confidently on top of his brief and at ease with both himself and his party.
He is not only joint national party leader, but the prospective parliamentary candidate. Throughout our wandering from door to door, he discussed his party in terms of the everyday political practicalities, without falling into the kind of Green Party jargon about climate and the environment which makes eyes glaze over.
“People who have voted Conservative all their lives are disillusioned and angry at what’s happened with the government: the shambles we’ve seen, the economic chaos that was generated by the few weeks of Liz Truss,” he says. “They are failing to get to grips with the issues which really affect people.”
Greens left with the field to themselves?
At a time when the Tory party seems to have lost its old values, their usually loyal rural voters may find they have little left to vote for. That may make them susceptible to the blandishments of the Greens, many of whose values are not that different from what traditional Conservatism used to champion. It is difficult to see why a Tory voter should be less aggrieved than any other at the despoilation of the countryside or raw sewage in the rivers. Here, the Greens may have found an open goal. And since Tory canvassers seem to be yet another group to be added to the list of endangered species, the arguments seem left to the Greens.
“People are looking for an alternative, and also there are lots of Green values that will strike a chord with people who live in the countryside,” says Ramsay.
Suffolk leads the way
Ramsay is not here as a token candidate. (The party isn’t going to waste one of its prize assets on a seat they believe is unwinnable.) To emphasise that point, he was accompanied by the deputy leader, Zack Polanski.
“It’s clear Adrian is a hard-working local candidate, and we’re taking the general election seriously,” says Polanski. “I’ve come today because this is a seat of national importance.”
But the two men and more than 50 other canvassers were in the village both for the general election and also to bang the drum for the party in May’s local elections.
“There has been a substantial increase in the number of Green councillors nationally, and Suffolk is really leading the way,” Ramsay claims. “We’ve won a huge number of seats across rural Suffolk from Conservatives, and in Mid Suffolk in particular, we’re close to overtaking the Conservatives and taking control of the council.”
The importance of having a Green in the room
‘Close’ is a matter of interpretation, mind.
“The Conservatives won about half the votes last time, and we got about 25%, so we’re clearly second,” he admits. “But last time, we didn’t mount a strong campaign in the way we are this time.”
“There have been Conservative MPs and Conservative councils in this area for as long as anyone can remember, and people feel neglected. What’s apparent when knocking on doors is nobody else has been.”
“There’s a phrase we often use: the importance of having a Green in the room,” Polanski adds. “Walsham is important at both a local and a national level. The problem has been that the gap was too wide and people thought we couldn’t do it. That’s changed.”
Public ownership of public services
Never mind a lack of Tory canvassers, as we knocked on doors, it was difficult to find any Tory voters either. Though, to be fair, it was difficult to find voters of any sort. Those we found were mostly for Labour, though on the whole lacking enthusiasm. Here in Toryland, Labour voters seemed disillusioned with what they see as Starmer’s pusillanimous approach. More than once, public ownership of public services came up, about which Starmer seems squeamish. One voter said he was Labour but would vote for whoever seemed most likely to remove the Tories. Another seemed despairing: “I’ve always voted Labour, but they’ll never win around here.”
Walsham dreamed on under winter sunshine. This may be the first time in its history that the village has been described as being of national importance, but it may not be the last.
