We are the Derbyshire Dales Green Party, covering the Derbyshire Dales constituency. One of our local Green Party District Councillors, Kelda Boothroyd, has been selected to be our Green Party General Election candidate.
The two-party voting system makes the General Election traditionally difficult for growing political movements, however, we have momentum on our side.
Last year at the local elections, we doubled the number of Green Party councillors on the Derbyshire Dales District Council and we are now working in an alliance as part of the governing group on the council.
Just one month ago at the East Midlands mayoral election, our Green Party candidate came in a historic third place - with a very encouraging 17% of the vote across the Derbyshire Dales area. This was more than three times the number of votes for the Liberal Democrats!
Whilst we know that it is very unlikely we will win in our constituency, we want to make sure everyone in the District has a chance to vote Green. For every vote the Green Party receives nationally this help gives a stronger voice to our campaigns in the future but it also contributes financially through something called 'Short money' - a little known but crucial part of our political system that the two main parties have kept well hidden to the electorate.
What is 'Short Money'?
This is a type of parliamentary funding for any party that is in opposition and has at least one MP and receives more than 150,000 votes at a General Election. The amount of funding is based on the number of MPs and the number of votes received nationally, so every Green vote does actually contribute to the work of the Green MPs that we hope will be elected in our target constituencies.
If you'd like to know a little more about 'Short Money' - there is a handy article titled 'What is House of Commons Short Money? on BBC News website.
This means that your donation could have a triple impact!
1. Your donation gets a Green candidate for Derbyshire Dales able to challenge the old parties.
2. By helping Kelda to stand, your donation enables all the votes they receive to translate into government funding for the Green MPs elected elsewhere.
3. If Kelda gets enough votes locally to retain our deposit, those funds come back and can be spent by the Green Party again, so we can keep building strength both locally and nationally.
Thank you very much for your support!
Note: The Green Party is a political party
We're required to run electoral register checks on people making donations above £500, and if you donate over £1,500 during a year, we are required to let the Electoral Commission know, who will make this available on their website. All donations go to general campaigning funds.
Promoted by Laura Mellstrom on behalf of Kelda Boothroyd (Green Party) at Heath Cottage, Main Street, Birchover, Matlock DE4 2BN
