Local election leader interviews: Green Party
In the first of six interviews, Chloe Turner speaks for the Greens on the upcoming Gloucestershire County Council elections
For a democracy to function it is the role of journalists to hold accountable those who would govern us and here in Gloucestershire upcoming county council elections give me the chance to do so.
Five interviewees representing the political parties, plus one representative hoping to form a strong group of independent councillors, have committed a time and place for me to ask questions - I do so on behalf of you, the Gloucestershire public.
This is your local election, your vote. Not every topic will be covered but contained in each interview are questions you the voter would like to have answers to.
Each interview focuses on the services Gloucestershire County Council provides as well as expectations and why you may consider voting either Conservative, Labour, Lib Dem, Green, Reform UK or an independent.
My first interview representing the Green Party to speak on Gloucestershire-wide issues is Chloe Turner.
As a chartered accountant and novelist, Chloe stood as Green Party candidate for North Cotswolds at last year’s general election. A Stroud District and Gloucestershire County councillor representing Minchinhampton, going into this election the Greens had four county councillors elected.
The party is on the back of a Westminster bounce thanks to increasing their MPs from one to four, including nearby co-party leader Carla Denyer elected as MP for Bristol Central, but what about Gloucestershire?
Gaining seats at recent district council elections in Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, Stroud, Cotswolds and Forest of Dean, running both Forest of Dean and Stroud District Councils as minority administrations, what aims do the Greens have for these latest elections to Shire Hall?
“For the last few elections, we have doubled our place each time and we would love to see that happen again at county council level,” Chloe explains. “We have strength in Stroud, the Forest and we are hopeful to see some growth in Tewkesbury and Cheltenham as well.”
28 seats are needed for one party to take overall control of the county council, a target which would be beyond the Greens wildest dreams in truth, but the potential of maybe forming a coalition if no party can reach the magic number, is certainly on the table.
Chloe says the Greens “are always interested in discussions with other parties about working together but we do have targets and we have strong candidates.”
Should these elections even be going ahead?
The Labour government are pushing all areas of England to merge areas where there are currently two tiers of local authority, a brand new ‘unitary’ council is on the cards for the county. It means councils such as Stroud District, Cheltenham Borough and Gloucestershire County Council will not exist for much longer.
One suggestion of splitting Gloucestershire in two saw a backlash, which means there is no agreement politically on a way forward. The Greens wanted these elections to go ahead, Stroud District Council leader Catherine Braun has called for Gloucestershire residents to have their say on council reorganisation plans via a county-wide citizens’ assembly, but as one voter asks, what is the point in voting at this specific election when GCC will soon disappear?
“It is a valid challenge,” Chloe tells me, “and every meeting I take part in now involves local government reorganisation in some shape or form! It is a big upheaval and is on people’s minds but we knew we were highly unlikely to be in the first tranche of going ahead with a unitary because there was not a ready solution for Gloucestershire.”
Chloe says the very earliest a unitary could be is 2027 “but it could be before then, so we feel the current council and election still needs to be in a business as usual mode. The electorate need to be given a say on who now leads and importantly who voters can trust to get a good deal for Gloucestershire.”
The Greens have a core value of being a party of “social and environmental justice”, so what are the party’s views on environmental issues which county council has control of?
Take Javelin Park incinerator just off junction 12 of the M5 as an example.
Tom Jarman is the Green candidate for Stonehouse and co-founder of Community R4C, a community-owned organisation advocating for lower-cost, environmentally sustainable waste management. The organisation claims the Gloucestershire County Council contract with Urbaser Balfour Beatty for incineration has cost taxpayers more than landfill, £42m over its first five years.
But Conservative cabinet member for environment David Gray says the decision to invest in Javelin Park “was taken more than a decade ago. It was the right decision then and, with the benefit of hindsight, remains the right decision now, powering 25,000 homes, recovering metals and building materials and saving the tax payers money.”
The council has said the incinerator has generated tens of millions of pounds in income to help fund public services. If Javelin Park is keeping council finances afloat amid challenging economic times, what is the problem?
“The claims that the incinerator has made millions of pounds are highly misleading and factually incorrect, Chloe says. Although there has been a short-term benefit arising from the spike in electricity prices, this is dwarfed by the increased costs of waste treatment compared to landfill. We do not feel the administration has been transparent about this expensive and complicated contract, and want to see it re-examined by the new council.”
Chloe adds that the Greens would “like to see a pre-sorting facility and we must make sure that what goes into the incinerator can only be waste that cannot be reused or recycled.”
On Net Zero, the county council has committed to reducing carbon emissions from all sources in the county to net zero by 2045 and to reduce emissions by 80% by 2030. But there are arguments that targets are both unaffordable, unachievable and Reform UK have argued net-zero policies are to blame for higher energy bills and would scrap them.
Chloe disagrees and feels there is “always hope that people can be impacted positively through Net Zero and there are so many co-benefits of the policy whether it is air quality, decarbonising transport, warmer homes, public health or wellbeing through nature-based solutions.”
“We accept that it is not an easy task, we could do with more national government intervention and as a county council this is something we can control very well, whether that is our own fleet of low emission transport. We would never underestimate the challenge and Greens want to see great jobs for Gloucestershire in renewable energy.”
Potholes, motorways, road safety and the cycle spine
On four issues which certainly get voters talking, Chloe says the Greens have a range of points to present to voters.
Potholes
Tackling potholes, Chloe says: “We do have lots of rural roads and I understand when the council prioritises urban roads and main artery roads and not country lanes. We would like to see more efforts to resurface and fill in more potholes in rural areas, which have been neglected over many years.”
“We have been disappointed by the performance under the Ringway contract because we don’t feel it has been well managed. There is endless frustration from residents where they will report potholes but will see a job half done. There was very little member involvement for members so we need to resource contract management better and we are calling for a better service.”
Upgrading Junctions 9, 10, 12 and 14 of the M5
The minority Green administration at Stroud District Council is facing challenges with their Local Plan Review due to concerns about the capacity of M5 Junction 12 and other junctions, particularly in relation to planned housing and employment growth.
What could a potentially increased Green Party at county council do to resolve this and does the party back upgrading Junctions 9 and 10 too?
“New roads would not be our priority in an ideal world because as Greens we would rather see good upgrades of the existing network, Chloe tells me. Greens would like to promote more active travel, but we do recognise that the Labour government has a desire to build more homes which will need better infrastructure.”
Speeding and 20mph
Voters have told me they will cast their ballot on whether candidates can guarantee concrete support for helping their community solve speeding issues. A Cotswold villager has told me they would like the next administration to help their community implement a 20mph limit.
“We’re really supportive of the 20’s Plenty campaign for residential areas and in Stroud we’ve worked hard with parishes, Chloe says. There is a really strong desire to have lower speeds in communities and road safety is a big issue and helping communities helps people too.”
Chloe adds: “There are calls for more road safety infrastructure and it is upsetting that there hasn’t been sufficient funding in budgets to put in new pedestrian crossings. We really do not want people to die before road safety measures are implemented and we’d argue that making spaces for walking safer would help reduce more use of the car.”
Cycle spine
The Gloucestershire Cycle Spine is yet to be completed but once finished, the £48 million project will be a 26-mile long cycling and walking route connecting Stroud in the south to Bishop’s Cleeve in the north, including Gloucester and Cheltenham.
But residents have raised safety concerns over the project, for example in Cheltenham. As reported by the BBC, people who live on Evesham Road say the changes have made access to their homes too narrow and that they are forced into the opposite lane because of a tight turning angle when turning left out of their homes.
“We recognise that criteria for government funding for active travel in recent years has steered councils towards large-scale infrastructure like the Gloucestershire cycle spine,” Chloe says.
”What we need to provide now is what our communities are asking for, safe routes to walk and cycle to school, to work and to amenities in their immediate area. We will prioritise this, alongside lowered traffic speeds in areas where people live, and awareness-raising of the protections for vulnerable road users in the new Highway Code.”
Adult Social Care
The Care Quality Commission (CQC), rated Gloucestershire County Council as requires improvement, in how well they are meeting their responsibilities to ensure people have access to adult social care and support.
So what would Gloucestershire Greens do to raise the quality of care? Adult Social Care is not provided by all councils but is by Gloucestershire who have responsibilities for some care homes and supported living facilities.
“What we’re seeing with social care is a skeleton service that used to be good but has been decimated by austerity, Chloe Turner says. Everything has been outsourced to private suppliers who have to make a profit, they charge more than they should and skills have been lost.”
“What Greens would like to see is gradually bring social care back in-house with the council. We need to adopt preventative approaches wherever possible such as using community healthcare and other community services that help people live safe and independent lives. We would like to move away from a privately operated system where we’re not just paying for the care but we’re also the paying the dividends to the shareholders of the private companies.”
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
Voters have told me there is currently little to no support for parents navigating the process of getting their child into a special school. Many families are struggling and burnt out after years of advocating, fighting and trying to figure out a system which feels impossible to navigate.
A new 200-capacity school for pupils in Gloucestershire with special educational needs in Abbeymead has been approved, but as parents point out, what can political parties or independent candidates do to support families in what is not just a Gloucestershire issue but a national one.
“It is a broken system and we’re furious that families are forced to use what should be emergency measures such as complaints processes or tribunals just to get where they should be in getting their child into a special school, Chloe explains.
Gloucestershire Greens accept that “there are so many families who do not feel able to combat this scary system. It’s encouraging that central government will release plans on how to support the recovery of SEND across the country. To be fair to the administration this is not just a Gloucestershire issue. We are proposing more openness on what the avenues for support actually are and to make sure that every family knows what to expect as they move through the system.”
While Gloucestershire is not in the top ten councils with the highest spend on SEND tribunals, Chloe adds: “It is about how you allocate the money. We do need more national government funding but what we can do is implement a navigator service, move staff into a dedicated SEND support service and potentially work with third sector providers who work in SEND. We have to use agencies across the country to help families.”
How to fund all council services, your council tax bill
County taxpayers are already coughing up more in household bills. The county council debated and approved the Conservatives’ budget proposals for 2025/26 at a meeting earlier this year.
Bills for the general public on top of a cost of living crisis involving high energy prices and the price of food - no wonder so many of you are feeling the pinch.
What would the Greens do to lower the council tax bill, or can lowering bills while maintaining good council service actually be achievable?
“I don’t think it is impossible (to lower the tax burden) but where we have seen other councils choose not to gradually increase their rates in line with inflation, we have seen services start to suffer, Chloe says. We think it’s good to maintain a level to provide decent services and it is appropriate that we have to charge council tax to give people valuable services but we do need to help and support those who cannot afford it.”
Chloe adds: “Scrutinising council on whether it is providing good value for money remains a priority for the Greens especially if a party gets overall control of the council. I would argue that council tax bands set a long time ago combined with property prices moving in different ways across the county has not made it fair. I hope at a national level the government will recognise we need to revalue properties.
So someone living in a small property in Cheltenham worth a lot of money but not paying a lot of council tax compared to a family sized council house in a rural setting paying far more council tax, we need to look at the real value of properties so people are paying a fair amount.”
Can voters also trust the Green Party in Gloucestershire that their council tax is spent wisely? The Green leadership at Forest of Dean District Council was recently criticised for its decision to spend £50,000 of taxpayers money to hire an oceanographer saying the post will help protect the "precious" environment in the Severn and Wye rivers.
Is this an example of council waste, a supposed “vanity project” when money is precious and could be spent better?
“That did make a funny headline but the River Severn is a tidal river and of course the Forest is a coastal community, Chloe says. It is a very important part of planning and we feel that we can be trusted on people’s money. We may have different views and we do know we need the trust of voters. I am a chartered accountant and we have people in the party who have experience, so people can trust us that we will put their local interests first rather than party interests.
Why should voters consider the Greens?
Chloe Turner says that if more Greens are elected, the party would like to see more cross-party consensus on Gloucestershire issues.
“We have felt excited in recent times to increase our standing at county council and we hope to build our representation further. Greens have an ambitious agenda of supporting local nature, climate and community-based projects that we would like to see take forward in Gloucestershire.
Our appeal to voters is making sure the county has fantastic local services and a responsible and collaborative approach to local government re-organisation as devolution moves forward.”
A full list of all candidates can be found here.
If anyone wants to see the third party verified report (published on UKWIN) showing the true costs of the Gloucestershire Incinerator and showing the background to the cost issues above - including the £42m increase in cost compared to landfill in first five years please see here: https://ukwin.org.uk/library/163-Contract-Five-Year-Review-March-2025.pdf
Hi Will thank you for your interviews they are very helpful. Is there a website that shows each of the candidates? I’m probably being a boomer but I can’t find any info anywhere which seems bizarre to me.