Forward by Burnley Green Group Leader, Scott Cunliffe

International Women’s Day offers us all an opportunity to reflect on how we can strive for gender equality at home, work and in public life.

Over the past twelve months, the Green Group on Burnley Council has successfully advocated that the Council adopts a substitute system and a maternity policy. Both measures enable those who are elected to better balance their caring responsibilities with their role as a councillor, and we are hoping that will increase representation in the council chamber – particularly women.

Last year Councillor Beki Hughes stood for election while she was pregnant, setting a new precedent and a new hope for young women across Burnley. Here Beki shares her story of the last year starting with the fantastic treatment she received from NHS staff in Burnley: Should Beki’s story resonate with you and you too are a woman who wants to get involved in local politics, please get in touch.

My Story, by Beki Hughes

My journey with NHS midwives was nothing short of extraordinary. From the moment I discovered I was expecting, their unwavering support and expertise made the entire process a joyous adventure. I was suffering from morning sickness the entire pregnancy so I needed a lot which I received from every medical professional.

During prenatal appointments, they took the time to answer my questions, providing valuable insights and easing any concerns. Their approach went beyond medical care; they formed a personal connection, remembering details about my preferences and fears. This made me feel seen and understood.

The delivery day showcased their unparalleled dedication. The midwives displayed remarkable composure, ensuring a calm and controlled environment. Their encouragement and coaching empowered me through each contraction, turning an overwhelming experience into a profound, empowering moment.

Postpartum care was equally exceptional. The midwives offered invaluable advice on new born care and breastfeeding, demonstrating a commitment to the holistic well-being of both mother and child. Their ongoing support extended beyond the hospital, reinforcing the sense of community and care that defines the NHS.

In essence, my encounter with NHS midwives was characterized by expertise, compassion, and a genuine passion for maternal well-being. Their positive impact resonates, creating memories of childbirth that are not only medically sound but also emotionally uplifting.

The only thing I would wish is that this level of care would be given to anyone looking for medical guidance and care from the NHS. If the mental health service ran in the same way we would find that suicide and depression could be a thing of the past.

Returning as a local councillor after giving birth brought a unique blend of challenges and rewards. Juggling council meetings, community engagements, and the needs of a new born demanded effective time management and a supportive network.

Being a new mother heightened my awareness of issues impacting families, making me more attuned to the diverse needs of residents. This newfound perspective enriched my advocacy, driving me to champion policies that foster family-friendly communities and improved access to childcare services.

The support of colleagues and residents during this transition was invaluable. Flexibility in meeting schedules and understanding about parenting commitments demonstrated a progressive approach within the council. It sent a powerful message that public service can adapt to the evolving needs of its representatives.

Returning to my role as a councillor post-birth is not only allowing me to contribute to my community but is also serving as a testament to the importance of diversity in local leadership.

The post A Journey from Councillor to New Mother appeared first on Burnley Green Party.

Green Councillors delighted to form new shared administration for Burnley Borough Council with Burnley Independent Group and Liberal Democrats

We are delighted to have formed a new shared administration for Burnley District Council after a split in the Labour executive. This new co-operative alliance will allow us to come together to deliver for all the people of Burnley.

A deal was reached today after a week of cross-party discussions and negotiations. The new shared administration comprises the Burnley Independent, Liberal Democrat and Green groups taking 2:2:2 seats respectively on a new six-member cabinet. The Greens have the following Cabinet portfolios:

• Cllr Scott Cunliffe ~ Sustainable Development & Growth. This includes economic development, transport policy, local energy policy, Local Plan, Business Engagement Town Centre Masterplan, Burnley Town Centre Partnership and Climate Action Strategy.

• Cllr Jack Launer ~ Health, Culture & Wellbeing. This includes Green Spaces, Parks, Burnley Leisure and Culture, Health and Inclusion, Burnley Together, Burnley and Pendle Children’s Partnership, and climate emergency response.

* Cllr. Martyn Hurt, Champion for Inclusivity & Accessibility

Green Group Leader Cllr Scott Cunliffe, said: “I am excited to serve in the new cabinet working collaboratively with all members on an ambitious programme of priorities that address inequality, the cost of living crisis and will attract sustainable investment in the urban and rural areas of our town.  

The Greens have another cabinet portfolio which will be picked up by Cllr Jack Launer. 

Cllr Jack Launer said, “In Burnley we are extremely proud of our Parks and Greenspaces, and rightly so, but Covid and the Cost of Living Crisis has shown that we need to adapt to make our land and facilities accessible, affordable and productive, whilst also supporting more residents to get outside and be more active across the town. I also see leisure and culture as key to the future of Burnley Town Centre and our ability to attract visitors to exciting events and plug into our rich and diverse talent in music, art and theatre moving forwards.”

Cllr Martyn Hurt said, “I am pleased to be chosen as the Inclusivity and Accessibility Champion. Burnley has an amazing integrated and diverse community, and we need to ensure that everyone within the community is represented, listened to and catered for.”

The Green Party has been celebrating record results across the country, having achieved the largest proportional gain of any party contesting the local elections held earlier this year. One of the party’s most encouraging results was in Burnley where in 2023 the Greens became the joint 2nd biggest party in the borough with to 7 seats. Burnley Green Party candidate, Alex Hall, was also successful in the recent by-election in Trinity ward in Burnley. 

Our new group of 7 Burnley councillors has a broad spectrum of people including a new mother, a young Green, and a champion of inclusion and accessibility.

The post Burnley Greens join Co-Operative Alliance to run Council appeared first on Burnley Green Party.

The results are in from the Trinity Ward and Burnley Central West Division by-elections.

Trinity:

Alex Hall, Green Party, 347

Mubashar Lone, Labour Party, 163

Susan Nutter, Conservative Party 73

Burnley Central West:

Scott Cunliffe, Green Party, 630

Charlie Briggs, Labour Party, 583

Don Whittaker, Conservative Party, 574

Jeff Sumner, Liberal Democrats, 156.

We would like to congratulate Alex Hall and Scott Cunliffe on their election victories tonight, and a double GREEN HOLD 🎉🍾

We would also like to thank each and every one of you who trusted us with your votes on Thursday and to thank everyone that helped us with our election campaign over the last few weeks – it has been humbling to see so many Green Party supporters who have helped us in so many ways.

Last, but not least, we want to say Thank You to Andy Fewings, Green Party Councillor and for all his hard work over the years in Burnley. You are, and will be, missed by us all at Burnley Green Party, and we wish you all the best for the future 💚

The post Burnley Central West and Trinity Victory! appeared first on Burnley Green Party.

A brief update on tonight’s full council:

1. Burnley Conservatives proposed taking £90k out of the £100k already set aside for accessibility in the council chamber including audio, video and physical alterations to make the characterful but inaccessible chamber suitable for disabled people.

Councillor Martyn Hurt said “It’s an absolute disgrace that they want to block disabled people, like me, from gaining access to the chamber and taking part in democracy. Only last month, Burnley Council unanimously passed a motion on making our streets accessible for all, yet barely a month later the Tories want to keep the council chamber inaccessible.

It’s incredible in this day and age that there are people in elected position within the Conservative Party with these out-dated and unwelcoming views.”

2. Only the Green Party proposed that the council tax should not be increased. Greens believe that council tax is a regressive tax and that in a cost of living crisis it is too much to ask those in Burnley to pay in many cases three or four times more than those with million pound mansions in the south pay for council tax.

Green Group Leader, Scott Cunliffe said “It’s disappointing that councillors don’t properly invest in the Green Economy to increase prosperity and job prospects for local people, whilst also bringing in much needed funds to the council. Instead, they have the same old strategy of putting council tax up to the max to replenish council coffers. The Conservatives who raised council tax by 4% on Lancashire County Council but claim to vote against rises in Burnley, didn’t support our amendment to prevent a rise.”

3. Our Green Group amendment to support King Charles Coronation with crowdfunders and fundraisers by the community in order to stop a proposed cut by the Labour and Lib Dem coalition of £10,000 to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau given the cost of living crisis and the need for support for residents also fell.

Councillor Sarah Hall said “King Charles himself says he doesn’t want money diverted from the public purse and instead wants communities to come together. The virtue signalling from the establishment parties is going to mean people in desperate need cannot get the advice they need. Our amendment supported both so it is political posturing that it was not supported”

The post Conservatives in Burnley show true colours, voting against accessibility for disabled people appeared first on Burnley Green Party.

We were the only party in Burnley to gain seats, securing a second Green councillor in the Cliviger with Worsthorne ward. Congratulations to Jack Launer – we wish you the best of luck in your new role. We now have a total of six borough councillors.

Scott Cunliffe (Left) with Jack Launer (right)

Our candidates narrowly missed out in Brunshaw ward (Alex Hall) and Whittlefield with Ightenhill ward (Andrew Newhouse), but Trinity ward county councillor Andy Fewings has become the first Burnley Green councillor to be re-elected to the borough council, showing that we are here to stay. This is another strong showing by the Greens in Burnley, who are going from strength to strength. The voters know we are the party that supports the residents of our town, and they are showing it at the ballot box. The more Greens you elect, the more we can make real changes in the town. But there is always more to do, and we need your help.

Burnley Green Candidates (left to right) Andrew Newhouse, Jack Launer, Alex Hall and Andy Fewings

If we are to continue to grow, we will need your support more than ever.

From being a Green candidate, to leafletting, to knocking on doors and talking to residents, to graphic design – the list of ways you can get involved is long and varied. If you’ve been inspired to become part of a team which is focused on delivering for the residents it represents, please get in touch via the Contact Us link at the top of this page. Every hour you can volunteer is valuable and will contribute to future success. If you would like to donate to our campaign funds, then please click this link. Green Party Membership, from as little as £6 per year, is the best way to regularly support your local group. Join here to get access to the national Green Party membership areas and be kept up to date with Burnley Green Party events. Thanks again to everyone who contributed to our 2022 success, and we hope to see you soon as we begin working for more gains in 2023.

The post Thank You! appeared first on Burnley Green Party.

The Green Party has grown dramatically since it saw its first Councillor elected to Burnley Borough Council in 2018. The town made history, voting for Andy Fewings to become the first ever Green Councillor in East Lancashire. Since then he has lead the Green Group at Burnley Town Hall, with the Party locally going from strength to strength, so far taking a total of 5 Burnley Council seats and 1 Lancashire Council seat in the town. Nearly one third of the borough now has a Green Councillor.

On 1 February Scott Cunliffe takes over the baton, perhaps a fitting metaphor for a local man well known for his ‘Runaway Challenge’ which raised over £60,000 for local causes.

Outgoing Group Leader Andy said: 

“It’s been an honour to lead the Green Party in Burnley over the last 4 years. Being the first Green elected was an absolute privilege and I am grateful to the residents for their ongoing support. I’m delighted that Scott is bringing his hard-working approach to fighting for the best interests of the residents of Burnley and Padiham as our Leader in the Chamber.”

“With the Party growing so fast, I feel it’s vital that longer standing Councillors like myself continue to make space for new voices at the cutting edge of local change.”

Scott said: 

“I want to thank Andy for being such an incredible force for local residents in Burnley and for putting the Party on the map. He will continue to play a vital role both as a Trinity Councillor and a County Councillor. I hope I will match his achievements when it comes to holding our Labour and Liberal Democrat Council to account.”

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Burnley Green Party Councillors Scott Cunliffe, Andy Fewings and Sarah Hall, together with Green Party members and supporters, were delighted to join ‘Trees for Burnley’ volunteers for the Big Plant 3 on Sunday 27th November.

Over 550 trees were planted just off Deer Park Road in Towneley Park as the snow began to set in for a lovely wintry morning.

312 trees, including Oak and Crab Apple trees, were donated to ‘Trees for Burnley’ by private individuals – a huge thanks to them and ‘Trees for Burnley’ is in order.

Thanks should also go to the lovely people who arranged refreshments and baked goods for the hard working volunteers – everyone needed a hot brew afterwards!

‘Trees for Burnley’ were supported by Green Spaces staff from Burnley Council, so a huge thanks to them too.

A final thanks goes to two local residents who brought some variety to the mix! They ensured some healthy self-seeded trees found a new home – including alder, beech and apple trees.

We are reliably informed there will be many more plants before March 2022, so we hope to see you all at a tree planting event coming up soon, and you can make a donation to help us buy even more trees to plant at the bottom of this post.

The post Greens had great fun helping Trees for Burnley appeared first on Burnley Green Party.

Burnley Green Party Councillors, Martyn Hurt, Sarah Hall and Andy Fewings together with Green Party members and friends joined the vigil yesterday in Burnley Peace Gardens to ‘March with Midwives’.

The vigil sought to raise awareness of the plight of Midwives in the current crisis and to support them and our NHS.

Stats show that out of every 30 new midwives, 29 leave or never enter the workforce. This is unsustainable.

More than 80% of those planning to leave cited inadequate staffing levels and more than 67% said they were unhappy with the quality and safety of care they are currently able to deliver.

The Royal College of Midwives estimates the UK is short 3,500 midwives and this problem is growing rapidly – the April 2021 NHS report showed the number of NHS midwives had fallen by almost 300 in just two months (the fastest fall on record).

Thank you to local midwife Sundas Khalid for the call to action!

Local midwives back the national campaign

In raising awareness about the vigil, Cllr Andy Fewings received a harrowing message from a local midwife, who wants to remain anonymous:

“Your support is truly appreciated, things are unbelievably terrible at the moment.

It’s unsafe and frightening. One night last week I worked a shift, there were just 2 newly qualified midwives and 1 agency midwife; we didn’t have a shift coordinator. The other wards were also short staffed and extremely busy so couldn’t spare any midwives to come and help us out. So for the entire night shift, 3 of us looked after a full ward of 29 women and 29 babies….you can appreciate that it’s impossible to provide safe, effective, personalised care to 58 patients with just 3 inexperienced midwives and no leader! It was actually traumatic.

This is happening far too frequently.

I don’t think there has been a day since I qualified and started work that I haven’t seen at least one midwife in tears at the unachievable demands of trying to keep women and babies safe and to make them feel cared for. At best we can run in and out of rooms, carrying out clinical observations as required… often we don’t even manage to carry out this basic task due to sheer lack of staff.

So unsafe for the women and so terrifying for us, knowing that if there is ever a poor outcome then we are likely to lose our registration, for failing to do the impossible… keep our women safe.”

Please help spread the word!

It was a great turnout, but this is just the beginning of raising awareness of the crisis for Midwives in the NHS.

You can help, please tell people you know about the crisis to spread the word. The Midwives have said this is just the first step.

You can also find the national campaign on Facebook here.

The post Burnley Greens Support ‘March with Midwives’ appeared first on Burnley Green Party.

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.”

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