RECORD NUMBER OF GREENS TO CONTEST GENERAL ELECTION

Apr 6, 2010 2:39:05 PM
By Andrew Woodcock, Press Association

Page 1

A record number of Green candidates will fight the May 6 General
Election, the party said today.

With candidates in more than 300 constituencies, a spokesman said the
Greens were "fighting to win" their first seat in the House of Commons.

Top targets are Brighton Pavilion, where party leader Caroline Lucas is
hoping to become the first Green MP, and Norwich South, where candidate
Adrian Ramsay is leader of the official opposition in the City Council.

The Greens are now putting the finishing touches to their election
manifesto under the slogan "Fair is worth fighting for".

"The Greens will be offering an investment package for massive
job-creation to see off the recession once and for all, and we will show
how to pay for it," said the party spokesman.

"We'll also show how to protect and improve the NHS, and how to give
British pensioners the best deal on offer."

In last year's elections to the European Parliament, Greens finished
ahead of Labour in the South East and South West and defeated the
Conservatives in cities like Brighton and Hove, Oxford, to Norwich,
Liverpool and Manchester, said the spokesman.

And he added: "This year, for the first time ever, more than 300 Green
candidates will contest a UK general election. And for the first time
ever, leading pollsters are predicting a Green Party breakthrough.

"In places like Brighton and Norwich, voters have become used to seeing
Greens elected in large numbers, so the normal squeeze of tactical
voting doesn't apply.

"These are cities where members of the public have seen Green
councillors in action over many years, pursuing Green Party policies
then winning re-election and a steady increase in council seats.

"We don't underestimate the challenge, but these are places where the
Greens are fighting to win."