General Election 2019: Green Party step aside for Liberal Democrats in Unite to Remain agreement
Green Party candidates in South Cambridgeshire and South East Cambridgeshire will step aside for the Liberal Democrats as part of an agreement between pro-EU parties, it has been announced today (Thursday, November 7).
The announcement was made by Unite to Remain, which is chaired by former South Cambridgeshire MP Heidi Allen, who is not standing in December’s election.
Pippa Heylings, Liberal Democrat candidate in South East Cambridgeshire, said: “This is fantastic news. I have worked alongside Green activists and share their commitment to improving our environment, which is threatened in so many ways.
“When I am elected as MP for South East Cambridgeshire, my Green colleagues can be certain that I will be fighting to tackle the climate emergency as vigorously as they would expect.
“This is an important step to build a brighter future for our country.”
Ian Sollom, Liberal Democrat candidate in South Cambridgeshire, said: “The sacrifice made by the Green Party here is enormous. It is very hard it is to stand aside for someone else when you have been working hard for a cause.
“We share so many of the aims of the Green Party. As well as a desire to stay in the EU, we both believe that we need to act quickly on climate change at all levels.
“This is an unprecedented agreement between the parties and is just the sort of action that is needed to improve politics at this critical time.
“We need to pay particular tribute to Heidi Allen, who has put so much into making this agreement happen.”
The Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Greens have agreed a plan to step aside for each other in 60 seats across England and Wales in the general election.
Ms Allen has said the level of cross-party working was “unprecedented in modern British political history”.
In a video released this morning, she said: “I, like so many others, have said that Brexit has completely broken our politics - that is has become so nasty and so divisive, that it may be beyond repair.
“But I tell you what, as I stand down from Parliament, I am so proud that Unite to Remain has shown as a glimpse of what politics could be and should be.
“This is what it’s all about: commitment to a common cause that puts people first.
“This is the country first politics that people are crying out for. If we work together, we can do this. I know we do this.”
Read more:
General Election 2019: Shock poll puts Liberal Democrats ahead of Tories in South Cambridgeshire