The Orkney Greens launched their manifesto on Wednesday 29 March for the local elections to Orkney Islands Council to be held on Thursday May 4th .

Commenting upon the launch, Steve Sankey, Co-convenor of the Orkney Greens, said:

Steve Sankey Orkney Greens

“It’s an exciting time, as for the first time since our inception in 2014, the Orkney Greens are standing two Scottish Green Party candidates in a local election – myself, in the council ward of East Mainland, South Ronaldsay and Burray, and Helen Woodsford-Dean in the council ward of West Mainland.”

Steve Sankey has stood before in an election in Orkney, in the Scottish Parliamentary election of 5 May 2016, standing as a list candidate in Highlands and Islands Region for the Scottish Green Party. He helped to poll 696 votes in Orkney, following which John Finnie MSP was elected to Holyrood. This is the first time that Helen Woodsford-Dean has stood in an election.

Steve added:

“The Orkney Greens are just that – local to Orkney – and there’s a bit in our manifesto for everyone across the county, although one or two issues are ward-specific. In particular, we’d like to progress the resolution of the barrier issue and the future of the short-sea crossing from Burwick, both of which seem to have stalled. We’d also like to see traffic calming measures and a ‘Twenty’s Plenty’ zone in the ‘Hope, so that our schoolchildren can cross the busy road safely with its ferry traffic and blind bends. Our manifesto is appealing to people to be bold and vote for change.”

Other issues include:

• tackling the fuel poverty issue through community-initiated wind turbines rather than the two large windfarm proposals at Costa and Hesta
• furthering sustainable tourism
• implementing a socially responsible investment policy
• pledging to end the culture of secrecy within the Council.

Helen Woodsford-Dean said:

Helena Woodsford-Dean Orkney Greens

“Orkney must be the one of the few places in the British Isles with World Heritage Site status which doesn’t also have a dedicated visitor centre. A world class visitor facility would enhance the experience of anyone visiting our magnificent Neolithic archaeology and also enable Orkney to better manage the impact 250,000 tourists each year have on the sites themselves. We would encourage the development of a project such as this as it would also generate revenue for the Orkney economy and provide local employment.”

The Orkney Greens manifesto may be viewed on: www.facebook.com/orkneygreens

The elections for Orkney Islands Council will take place on Thursday May 4th