I’m the Green Party Parliamentary Candidate in Cheltenham. Thank you to the more than 3000 local residents who voted Green in GE2024 – we finished in 3rd place ahead of Labour, a fantastic achievement and a platform for future success and growth.
For too long residents in Cheltenham have felt let down and ignored by their politicians, forced to choose between two very similar parties who were recently in a coalition together. But now, as we feel the full force of the cost-of-living crisis and the climate crisis on our doorstep, it is time for real change.
A little about me. I am married with 4 daughters and have lived in Cheltenham with my family for 10 years and in Gloucestershire for over 20 years. I am not a career politician, having worked in business all my life, building and leading successful companies across Europe. I am a trustee of the Cheltenham Trust where I chair the commercial Board and am also a director at Foodloose, Cheltenham’s very own community owned refill and plastic free shop.
Electing Green MPs to Parliament sends a message about the serious change that we need. We now have 4 Green MPs working hard and fighting for climate and social justice. Make no mistake, we will be continuing our tremendous growth here in Cheltenham, pushing for the new ideas our politics is crying out for.
The days of tactical voting are over – we have no Conservative councillors and no Conservative MP, and a Labour government. So the next time a Lib Dem tries to pressure you into voting for them to “stop the Tories”, tell them you are done with tactical voting and are voting for what you believe in!
These are my priorities for Cheltenham:
Ending the Deterioration of our Town Centre:
Cheltenham has some magnificent buildings and parks yet too much of the town has been neglected in favour of Lib Dem vanity projects that have racked up the town’s debt (for a prime example see here). We must be smart about investing in our town, its infrastructure and public spaces, making Cheltenham a beautiful place to live and work.
Introduction of a Wealth Tax:
Cheltenham has some of the highest levels of wealth in the country, but it also has some of the highest levels of deprivation. We didn’t have food banks in the town before the Lib Dem/Tory coalition started austerity, and I am calling on those with the largest wealth to do their duty to pay some additional taxes to end homelessness, food banks and substandard housing in our town.
To Prioritise Pedestrians, Cycling and Air Quality:
I want Cheltenham to become a place where people can walk and cycle safely, and where the dominance of the car is challenged in order to help improve the town’s appalling air quality.
Making Cheltenham a Safe Place for Women:
My four daughters often do not feel Cheltenham is a safe place to walk around in. This is worse during race weeks, and this has to be tackled. I do not want the town to be become the ‘Vegas of the west country’. The
increase in betting shops, strip clubs and anti-social behaviour which has been allowed to happen under the Lib Dems and Tories in power needs to be called out and reversed.
Affordability and Availability of Housing:
I want to see an end to the housing crisis, with policies like protection for renters through rent controls, an end to no fault evictions, and transformation of the planning system so that new developments come with great community services.
Protecting the NHS:
I will push for a properly funded NHS to bring down hospital waiting times and stop it feeling like such an uphill struggle to see your GP or dentist.
To Campaign on the Environment:
We need on-shore wind farms. We need solar panels on all new housing and to be allowed on listed buildings in the town. We need clean rivers and for water companies to be brought back into public hands. We need improved insulation for our social housing. And we need more creative ways to tackle the climate crisis together.
To Re-join the European Union:
The Green Party is the only party in Cheltenham calling for this. Cheltenham is pro-European, and everyone from young people to local businesses know being outside of the EU has cost our town.
Action on Standard of Living:
I would push for immediate measures to help people address the alarming increase in the cost of living, common sense steps like increasing universal credit by £40 a week and bringing up the minimum wage to £15 an hour for everyone over 16.
Please talk to me when you see me out and about in Cheltenham, or you can contact me at daniel.wilson@cheltenham.greenparty.org.uk.