[P]enrith and Eden Green Party has selected Doug Lawson as its candidate for prospective Member of Parliament in the General Election on the 8th of June.
Doug is a Penrith Town Councillor and the Green Party candidate for Greystoke and Hesket in the May County Council Elections. As a concerned parent, he has been instrumental in organising a countywide campaign against government cuts to schools’ funding.
Doug is active in the local community as a Governor at Plumpton School; he is also a member of Penrith Methodist Church as well as volunteering with a local Scout unit. Earlier this year Doug was co-opted onto Penrith Town Council, which he serves as an energetic and enthusiastic Councillor, promoting and supporting the town.
On being selected, Doug said: “It is a privilege and an honour to stand as a candidate in this crucial election and to present the Green Party case to the people of Penrith and The Border.”
He added: “The Green Party stands for a new way of looking at politics and I am excited to have the chance to tell the voters of Penrith and The Border about our positive, forward-looking policies.”
On key campaign issues, Doug said: “I am passionate about the need to increase, not cut, the funding for our schools and for the education of our children and young people.
“Local people depend on key services that have fallen victim to this Government’s austerity policy. The long-term, negative impact of these cuts is appalling; it is unacceptable, for instance, that local health provision at Alston Hospital is threatened by cutbacks and closures.
On national issues, Doug said: “The Green Party fought hard for Britain to stay in the EU. We accept, of course, that the referendum was an instruction to the Government to begin Brexit negotiations. We do not accept, however, that the decision should be irreversible. The referendum should be the start, not the end, of the democratic process; voters should have the right to a say on the final deal – with the option to remain in the EU if they so choose. We, as a party, are making that position very clear.”
He added: “I am also deeply concerned that this Government is prepared to sacrifice the climate and the environment to its political ideology.”
The Green Party supports electoral reform and proportional representation. In the same spirit, it is an advocate of progressive alliances with other political parties that are committed to a fairer, greener, more compassionate Britain.
