Leader of the Green Party on Burnley Council Andy Fewings, said “I am delighted to welcome Andrew to the Green Party. Andrew was one of the few I have worked with on Burnley Council who puts residents before Party colours. And that is a good match for our approach in the local Green Party. We put hard work in the community first – which is why we don’t “whip” our councillors how to vote”
Andrew Newhouse served as a Burnley Councillor for Cliviger with Worsthorne Ward for 9 years. Andrew said:
“I am excited to get involved with local campaigns again and help out the community. That is why I got involved in politics in the first place. After leaving the Conservatives I knew that I wanted to stay involved in local politics. There is so much more to be done locally as Burnley has been forgotten for generations by the establishment politicians.
“It is clear that the Green Party are the only party holding the Labour and Lib Dem coalition running Burnley Council to account. In particular, regarding Labour’s disastrous local plan, which is destroying green spaces in our Town. Conservative Government policy doesn’t help though, and proposed new changes to the planning system by the Conservatives are likely to make it worse.
I have been impressed with the hard work and credibility of the Green Party Councillors on Burnley Council – which is something residents clearly agree with me on as they have consistently polled well overall in Council Elections in Burnley in recent years. Just over 3 years ago they had no councillors and now there are 6 Green seats in the town – 5 on Burnley Council and 1 on Lancashire County Council.
The Green Party has been working harder than any other party here in Burnley and that’s what local politics should be all about. I’m a hardworking campaigner with years of experience and I wanted to see my own hard work valued and utilised.
With the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showing that we need to urgently address the climate and ecological emergency, many parents like me know that a strong Green Party, which has been warning us about this for years, is needed now more than ever. I am looking forward to getting stuck in.”