The Executive Committee of the Harrogate and District Green Party have announced their Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC).
Dr. Greig Sharman has been elected as the new Green Party prospective candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough.
The decision follows a hustings at the November 2016 annual general meeting and a vote of the local membership.
Dr. Greig Sharman replaces Ms. Shan Oakes as the parliamentary candidate in the advent of a general election. Ms. Shan Oakes retains a key role as Press Officer and Secretary on the Executive Committee of the Local Party.
Dr. Sharman has lives in the Bilton area of Harrogate with his wife and 3 children and has been a member of the local party since 2014. He has worked at the University of Leeds since 2013 as an IT Executive. Prior to that he was an IT Consultant working across the UK, Europe and the Middle East with healthcare; finance; manufacturing; insurance and Pharmaceutical businesses.
Dr. Sharman has stood as a local council candidate in recent council elections in Bilton Ward (2015) and more recently in Bishop Monkton Ward (2016) coming second to the Conservatives with a share of 14.8% of the vote.
The Green Party Executive Committee has put its support behind Dr. Sharman and said it he is well placed to help the local Green Party promote its green and social principles and push forward its local agenda which focuses on:
- Protecting Harrogate and Knaresborough’s environment and heritage;
- Supporting local businesses;
- Pushing for an integrated solution to our transports issues;
- Promoting the protection of Yorkshire from the dangerous practices of shale gas extraction (Fracking);
- Promoting the interests of NHS doctors and nurses over those of private corporations;
- Ensuring the majority voice of the local constituent’s Remain voters are heard in the EU Brexit plans.
Dr. Sharman said: I am absolutely delighted that the local membership has placed their trust in me. I want to thank Shan Oakes and the local members for getting us into a really healthy position, with some great recent successes in Knaresborough.
Looking forward to 2017 and beyond I believe the Green Party has a credible local voice and our values and principles are shared by a large proportion of the local electorate. People trust us with our environmental credentials and our opposition to Fracking, but beyond that I believe that putting the interests of Knaresborough and Harrogate first distinguishes us from the other political parties, who often prioritise party politics first before the needs of our residents.
I’m looking forward to continuing to represent the interests of the local community and our members and further promoting the Green Party as a credible alternative.
The local party is looking to build on its recent wins and successes with Bill Rigby as Mayor of Knaresborough and Elizabeth Collins as a local parish councillors. With recent local election results in some Wards as high as 18% (Lower Nidderdale; 2016) and a number of local candidates coming second to the Conservatives, the local Green Party say that they want to be seen as the credible alternative to the incumbent Conservative party.
