We’re hoping the new Young Greens group will help improve our social media presence and communications and marketing activity. Organising locally will also make it easier to meet peers regionally and nationally.

The Young Greens are a dynamic, semi-autonomous section of the party which run their own events and training, and have skilled up many leading Greens, including co-leader Carla Denyer.

Their motto is ‘Don’t just get angry, get active!’

The Young Greens are re-launching a regional group in Leeds University on Saturday 22 February at 3pm; so it is an excellent time to get involved! If you fancy going along to the launch with some local members, including Martin Hey who is speaking at the event, email the Membership Officer.

The post Calling all Young Greens in Calderdale appeared first on Calderdale Green Party.

Come along to find out what we are doing to challenge the Government and ramp up climate and nature action locally and nationally.

2025 has brought more evidence of the escalating Climate and Nature Emergencies. Yet Labour has U-turned on even more green pledges and launched on astonishing war on bats and newts.

We will be discussing our plans to grow the number of Green councillors across Calderdale in the 2026 local elections when all 54 council seats are up for grabs.

In October we had a brilliant result in the Calder council by-election pushing Labour close in what was an ultra-safe seat. Let’s build on the momentum and surge in support for the party and get more Greens elected!

Updates on plans to build a windfarm on Walshaw Moor and waste incinerator plant in Sowerby Bridge will also be on the agenda.

Refreshments provided and we will be going to a local pub afterwards.

Please let Membership Officer Robert Orange know if you can come by emailing Membership Officer.

The post Members meeting on 11 March 2025 in Hebden Bridge Town Hall appeared first on Calderdale Green Party.

As part of our campaign to urge local MPs Kate Dearden (Halifax) and Josh Fenton Glynn (Calder Valley) to support the Climate and Nature (CAN) Bill, we held a rally in Hebden Bridge.

The Bill had its second reading on 24 January 2024 and neither Kate nor Josh backed the Bill, despite a letter from Calderdale Council asking them to support it after the matter was raised at full Council in November by Green Councillor Elaine Hey.

The confirmation last week that 2024 was the hottest year on record and the first to breach the 1.5 degree global warming limit should be a wake-up call to everyone that we need bolder and more ambitious climate and nature action now and the debate on 24 January is a good opportunity to move closer to this. You can find out more about the cross-party campaign in support of CAN from The Zero Hour Campaign.

So what is Calderdale Green Party doing?

We staged a rally with other Green groups in central Hebden Bridge on Saturday 18 January 2025 where we gave out CAN campaign leaflets and urged local people to write to Kate and Josh in the run up to the debate asking them to attend it and back the Bill.

We also staged a photo call of activists with a large ‘We support the climate and nature bill banner’ (see above) which shared on social media and with the press.

This year is the tenth anniversary of the devastating Boxing Day floods, when 3000 properties mainly in Todmorden, Hebden Bridge and Sowerby Bridge were flooded, and the local economy was battered to the cost of £150 million.

The Climate and Nature Bill is a great opportunity to accelerate joined up action on the interconnected climate and nature crises, and it is disappointing that neither Kate nor Josh has so far shown leadership on this.

The post Urge local MPs to back the Climate and Nature Bill appeared first on Calderdale Green Party.

It is supported by over 180 MPs, including all four Green MPs, but disappointingly neither Calderdale MP Josh Fenton Glynn (Calder Valley) nor Kate Dearden (Halifax) are supporting the CAN Bill.

This is despite the fact that Calderdale is an area severely and increasingly impacted by flooding caused by environmental degradation and climate change.

Calderdale Council will now write to both MPs urging them to back the Bill and put its name to the cross-party CAN campaign, which already has the support of 370 councils and leading Labour figures, including Tracy Brabin and Andy Burnham, as well as MPs from a range of parties.

How you can help

1. Email your MP and ask them to back the CAN Bill. The Zero Hour Campaign has a toolkit which makes this super easy and quick. It will only take two minutes.
2. Support the campaign on social media. Tell your followers you have written to Josh/Kate asking them to back the Bill and share posts from the Zero Hour campaign and other key supporters.

This will put pressure on Kate and Josh. Both are new MPs in constituencies that have been devastated by flooding over the past decade. It is not good enough that they are standing on the sidelines on the issue. In fact, as a councillor Josh previously supported the Bill which was first introduced to Parliament by Caroline Lucas in 2019. Now he has been elected MP, he should be making the case for the CAN Bill to other MPs, based on the experiences of constituents in the Upper Valley.

Yes, we CAN pass the Climate and Nature bill!  Please get behind the campaign and write to your MP.

The post Calderdale Council backs the Climate and Nature (CAN) Bill appeared first on Calderdale Green Party.

We will meet at St George’s Square at 11am, with a coffee beforehand, if you fancy it, from 10am at Café Cali on Bridge Street.

The walk will last about two hours and mostly be easy under foot, with some steps. Bring good walking shoes and waterproofs (just in case!).

By all means invite friends! We will be heading off promptly at 11am and it would be useful to know how many people to expect; so if you’re thinking of coming, please can you let us know by emailing the Membership Officer.

The post Social walk from Hebden Bridge into Hebden Dale appeared first on Calderdale Green Party.

We came a very strong second with a much-increased share of the vote, thanks to a mix of growing support for green policies and disillusionment with the Labour Government.

Support for the Labour party has plummeted since the local elections in May, in an area previously considered a party stronghold, despite standing a long-established community representative.

The by-election was called after Labour’s Josh Fenton Glynn was elected MP and stood down as a councillor.

Reacting to the result, Green Party candidate Kieran Turner said:

‘Thank you to everyone in Calder who voted for me. It’s hugely disappointing to lose but brilliant that there was such a big increase in support for the Green party. I’ve really enjoyed chatting to residents about the issues that matter to them during the campaign, and I will follow up with all the emails and casework.’

Cllr Martin Hey, Leader of the Green group on Calderdale Council, said:

‘Well done to Kieran and his team for running such a brilliant campaign. There was a swing from Labour to the Greens of 23% so we made huge gains in an ultra-safe Labour ward. That’s proof support for the Green Party is surging across Calderdale and voters want to live in a fairer and greener community.

‘Voters feel let down by the Labour Government – the two-child benefit cap and changes to pensioners winter fuel allowances came up on doorsteps. But there was also a huge amount of concern about environmental issues and a desire for greater scrutiny of the Labour run Council.’

The post Huge gains made in Calder by-election appeared first on Calderdale Green Party.

Martin Hey, leader of the Green group on Calderdale Council, said that above inflation council tax increases over the next three years would be unfair as they would hit those on low incomes hardest, when they are already struggling to cope with cutbacks to vital services and the cost of living crisis.

‘Council tax is regressive. Those on lower incomes pay proportionately more — much more — than higher earners. That’s unfair and Green councillors will strongly oppose Labour plans to balance the books by putting council tax up in Calderdale by the maximum allowed annually in coming years.

‘People on low incomes have already been hit by years of austerity which has seen drastic cuts to vital local services used most by vulnerable groups in our community. At the same time more households’ finances are buckling under the pressure of the ongoing cost of living crisis leaving many having to choose between heating and eating, as the weather gets colder.

‘Calderdale Council needs to stand up for local people and send a message to the Labour Government that seems intent on imposing another round of austerity that enough is enough. Tax those with the broadest shoulders more and provide additional support to cash strapped local authorities. Stop putting the burden on ordinary people to fix the country’s finances.’

The post Green Council Leader hits out at planned Council Tax rises appeared first on Calderdale Green Party.

Kieran is a long-time community activist and is passionate about protecting and restoring the environment.

He will make a brilliant, hardworking councillor who will work closely with residents and local groups to make life better in the ward.

‘It’s clear to everyone that politics as usual isn’t working,’ said Kieran. ‘We need a new approach.

‘That’s why there is a surge in Greens being elected at all levels, bringing fresh accountability to politics. We can make this happen again in this by-election.’

The election was called following the resignation of Labour’s Josh Fenton-Glynn after he was elected MP in July.

The by-election will be held on 24 October 2024.

The post Kieran Turner selected for Calder Ward by-election appeared first on Calderdale Green Party.

Thanks to all our supporters in Calderdale who came out to support us not only in the local elections but also in the General Election. Elsewhere the Green Party has gained four new MPs.

While the Labour Party took both of the seats in Calderdale, the contrast between the two could not be more stark. They took Calder Valley with a higher share of the vote than the Labour Party gained nationally but in Halifax they had their lowest share of the vote for decades.

The post Calderdale Greens’ best ever General Election results appeared first on Calderdale Green Party.

The debate heard from candidates standing on behalf of the Conservatives, Green Party, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Reform UK and the Yorkshire Party.

You can watch the debate in full at the Your Voice Your Vote Election Debate.

The post Be more honest about taxes appeared first on Calderdale Green Party.