Yet, as with so many things in life, it is up to us what we make of the opportunity. The EU elections take place on a system of proportional representation. That means that people can vote whatever way they like and that creates a real opportunity to vote for positive change.
At the last EU election in Yorkshire and the Humber the result was a really unpleasant shock. The votes for the top five parties in 2014 went as follows
1st UKIP with 403,630 votes which represented 31.1% of the votes
2nd Labour with 380,189 votes which represented 29.3%
3rd Conservatives with 248,945 votes which was 19.2%
4th The Greens with 102,282 votes which was 7.9%
5th Lib Dems with 81,108 and 6.25%
Turnout was 33.5%
That result gave UKIP an enormous boost and two MEPs. It was beyond their wildest dreams and paved the way for their success in forcing a referendum and winning it. I happen to think that was an incredibly negative thing and the country has suffered hugely as a result. But there can’t be much doubt that the people who voted for them made a difference. A negative difference but nevertheless a highly significant one.
This time round the opportunity is there for the taking to make a difference in a much more positive direction. In an election where people can vote with their consciences parties with a different vision to the two giant dinosaurs can do very well. There is therefore a real opportunity for the Green Party to do significantly better than the 7.9% it recorded last time round. If it does and it gets its first MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber then that person will have the chance to speak out locally, regionally, nationally and internationally on behalf of our region. They can articulate a future for Yorkshire and the Humber that will actually work.
We don’t have to look back through nostalgic eyes and hope that Brexit will somehow magically make everything better for our neglected towns and cities and take us back to the days of large factories and busy High Streets. We don’t have to pander to that illusion by telling people that if they accept some kind of cobbled together half way house compromise their dreams of a brighter future will be realised. There is no future in running away from the EU simply in order to embrace Trump’s America. There is also no future in following EU decisions that we are no longer playing any part in making – that will simply result in increased resentment and eventually in a more complete breach with our nearest neighbours.
Someone needs to articulate a more positive future. What is needed is genuine leadership, genuine responsibility and genuine forward thinking. Technology is changing with great rapidity and Yorkshire and the Humber is very well placed to prosper. What we need is help for our region from both the UK and the EU Parliaments in the form of hard cash and serious reprioritisation of resources. Neglected towns and cities need support to change not fantasies about a falsely idealised past.
We need Hull to be the place in Europe where offshore wind farm technology and all its associated spin offs is being driven forward. We need the fantastic universities in Leeds, Sheffield, York, Bradford, Hull, and Huddersfield to be investing in research into better batteries, heat exchange units, alternatives to plastics, better insulation and low energy production techniques. Our local businesses need support to turn the latest technology into practical designs and into products and services which sell around the world. The opportunities to build science-based health employment in our region are amazing – provided that we can use the advantages the UK gains from having the NHS instead of constantly running it down, re-organising it and trying to weaken it with privatisation.
The MEPs that Yorkshire and the Humber has are currently the only representatives that have been given the right by the ballot box to speak on behalf of our region and fight for resources on behalf of it. How well have they done that job so far? How prominent has their profile been? Have they really all been actively putting their shoulder to the wheel day in day out? And have they been doing so in a positive direction?
A Green MEP could do the job so much better. Even one Green MEP speaking out on behalf of our region would have a fantastic opportunity to regularly articulate a workable sustainable future and to help our region to change. Having that person speaking out on behalf of the real needs of all our citizens would be a fantastic boost. It would bring practical improvements to decision making and set us on a positive path. The boost that would come from having such leadership would also result in a lot more Green voices on representative bodies at all levels.
The crucial factor in achieving this will be turnout. Over six million people took the trouble recently to sign a petition to revoke article 50. If every one of those people acts in the real world instead of just virtually then progressive parties will win the EU elections with a huge majority.
The total vote last time round in our region was 1,296,701. Close to a million people in the region recently said that they wanted to revoke article 50 but their signature on a petition was easily ignored. It was debated in Parliament in a short session and voted down by both the two major parties. If those people turn out and vote in local and EU elections then they can’t be ignored. If they turn out and vote for parties that are actually genuinely against Brexit there will be a truly astonishing change in the representatives speaking out for our region. How many of those people want their vote for one of the two major parties interpreted as a vote for Brexit? How many would prefer to vote for what they actually believe in?
It is up to us. What do we want to be? Are we satisfied to be the kind of people who click on a petition every now and then? Are we satisfied to give our vote to an opposition party that refuses to oppose Brexit? Or do we want to see a serious change?
Yorkshire and the Humber has a fantastic range of candidates to be a Green MEP. I admit that I have a vested interest in saying that because I’ve put myself forward to be on the list. But I was genuinely hugely impressed by the quality of the talent that I was up against at the hustings. Any one of the 9 candidates for the 6 seats would be a really effective fighter for a positive future in their region.
So please get everyone you know to get out campaigning and let’s make sure that everyone who clicked that they were fed up with backward looking politics and wanted to revoke article 50 gets out and votes. And while we’re at it let’s get through to a lot more people who wanted to leave that we can revive neglected regions with positive policies but Brexit isn’t one of them. It is a lot of big promises – that cover up an intent to sell you out to Donald Trump and the hedge funds.
The time has come to choose a positive future and opt for hope. Please vote Green in local and in EU elections.