In a surprise move, which is likely to send shockwaves across Camden politics, the Green Party has chosen former Liberal Democrat councillor and Camden Eco Champion, Alexis Rowell, as their candidate for the Highgate by-election on Thursday 14th September.
Alexis was a leading Lib Dem councillor in Camden from 2006 to 2010, and is widely credited with having significantly raised the profile of environmental issues in the council and across the borough.
But, shortly after winning a national Sustainability Councillor of the Year award, he stood down at the May 2010 elections saying he’d done 80% of what he’d set out to do.
After his selection on Tuesday night by the Camden Greens Alexis said: “I have been growing increasingly disillusioned with the Lib Dems since the party joined the coalition government. My principal reason for leaving was Chris Huhne’s support for nuclear power, but I have also been completely unimpressed with the coalition’s overall environmental record and appalled by what their policies and cuts are doing to the social fabric.”
Alexis formally resigned from the Lib Dems on Monday paving the way for his selection by the Greens on Tuesday night. In his resignation letter to Nick Clegg he said: “I recognise that any government would have had to make difficult decisions, but I’m still shocked by the fact that you signed the foreword to the bill to privatise the NHS, by the draconian frontloaded cuts to local government, by the free schools policy, by the virtual abandonment of state-funded higher education, by the lack of any action on banker bonuses and exorbitant pay in general, by the decision to fully privatise the Royal Mail, and by a host of other free market or libertarian policies which I didn’t vote for and which I can’t support.”
The Greens currently have one councillor in Camden, Highgate’s Cllr Maya de Souza. In the past the Greens held all three seats in Highgate and are widely seen as the principal challengers to Labour in this by-election. Cllr de Souza said: “We are delighted to have such an experienced and energetic candidate standing for us in Highgate. It is largely thanks to the work Alexis did last time he was a councillor that sustainability is such a key concern at Camden Council. But he’s also got a great track record as a ward councillor responding to residents’ concerns. His energy, enthusiasm and hard work will be a great asset to Highgate.”
The Chair of the Camden Green Party, Natalie Bennett, said: “At a time when the Conservatives and the Lib Dems are creating havoc nationally, and Camden Council’s Labour administration is closing libraries and playgroups, Alexis is a strong candidate for anyone who cares about the environment and progressive issues generally.”
The leader of the national Green Party, Caroline Lucas MP, said: “Alexis’s move from the Lib Dems to the Greens shows that it is the Greens who are leading the way on progressive and environmental politics in the UK. I encourage all Lib Dems to take a long hard look at what the coalition is doing and to ask themselves whether they really support what’s happening.”
About Alexis
Alexis unexpectedly won a council seat in 2006 in Belsize, then a safe Conservative ward. The Lib Dems had been a distant third in previous elections behind the Tories and Labour. In his book Alexis describes how he put together a team of 50 friends and family to help with the campaign. Nobody in the Lib Dems or anywhere else in Camden expected the Lib Dems to win Belsize and no Lib Dem activists were allowed to work there except the candidates. In the event the Lib Dems won all three seats in Belsize which proved crucial as it meant the Lib Dems became the largest group in Camden Council and Lib Dem group leader Keith Moffitt became council leader.
Alexis was a BBC journalist from 1990 to 1998, most notably working in Moscow, Kiev and Tbilisi as the Soviet Union was breaking up. He currently runs a climate change and peak oil consultancy called cuttingthecarbon – www.cuttingthecarbon.com. Alexis has an economics degree from University College London, an MBA from INSEAD Business School and a Masters in Food Policy from City University. He helps to coordinate a local environmental group, Transition Belsize – www.transitionbelsize.org.uk - and the Camden Climate Action Network – www.camdencan.org.uk. He has also written a book called “Communities, councils and carbon – what we can do if governments won’t”, which he describes as “a blood, sweat and tears account of life as an elected eco warrior trying to encourage local government to work with communities to make the world a greener place.”
The Highgate by-election was called when Labour councillor Michael Nicolaides stepped down citing work and personal pressures after just 18 months in the job. The last time the ward was fought, in May 2010, the Greens won one seat (with Maya De Souza winning the most votes) and Labour won two. In 2008 a byelection in Highgate saw the Greens top the poll.
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