News and opinion
Reports and announcements from the local party, alongside opinion essays and letters by our members. 74 posts going back to 2019, newest first. Looking for something in particular? Search the site.
What the labels mean
- News
- What happened, and what we did.
- Opinion
- An essay giving the writer’s own view.
- National
- Relayed from the national party.
- Policy
- A submission, proposal or manifesto.
- Consultation
- A public consultation, and how to have your say before it closes.
- Guide
- Practical help: what to do, who to call, how to apply.
- Explainer
- The facts on a local issue, set out plainly.
- Letter
- An open letter, from the party or one of our members.
- Event
- Something on that’s worth going to.
2026
"Affordable" rent or social rent: what's the difference?
In planning, "affordable" covers two very different rents. What Social Rent and Affordable Rent mean, and what they could cost in Uttlesford.
Credit: Images Money (TaxRebate.org.uk), via Flickr, CC BY 2.0City & Country's Stansted and Birchanger schemes go to inquiry: what happens now
From Tuesday 3 November, a public inquiry is examining plans by the developer City & Country for up to 480 homes on Green Belt land between Stansted Mountfitchet and Birchanger – the schemes the local press calls "Stanhanger". Here is what the inquiry is, why it's happening, and what comes next. The schemes City & Country applied in November 2025…
Credit: Dutch Landscape Architects for City & Country (inquiry core document CD2.27)Derek vs Derek at Saffron Screen, 7 November
The story of two neighbouring farmers at loggerheads comes to Saffron Screen on Saturday 7 November at 2.30pm.
Credit: Saffron ScreenWhat the Budget means for Uttlesford: a round-up
Energy bills, farms, homes, buses, business rates, SEND and an Essex mayor: what's in the Budget for Uttlesford, what isn't clear yet, and where Greens stand.
Credit: Kirsty O'Connor / No 10 Downing Street, via HM Treasury, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0What the Budget means for Uttlesford's farms
The Chancellor, John Healey, presented his first Budget today. For many farming families in Uttlesford, one question mattered most: would the Government change the inheritance tax rules for farms that came in this April? It didn't: the rules below still apply. Here is what the rules are, what was said before the Budget, what the Budget changed…
Credit: Roger Jones, via Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0What the Budget means for Uttlesford's pubs, shops and cafés
From April 2027, the Budget cuts or caps business rates for many pubs, shops, cafés and other high-street businesses in England. Here's what was announced, and what to do now.
Credit: Mark Seton, via Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0What the Budget means for SEND in Essex
The Budget says councils' SEND deficits will stop building up from April 2028, but not what happens to those built up before then. What it means for Essex County Council.
Credit: Sebastiandoe5, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Green Party reaction to Autumn 2026 Budget
Dr Ellie Chowns MP, the Green Party’s Treasury spokesperson, called John Healey’s first Budget “a business-as-usual Budget which failed to engage with the real issues facing our country”.
Credit: Laurie Noble / UK Parliament, CC BY 3.0£100 for bands A to D: why nearly half of Uttlesford's homes might miss out
The Budget's £100 energy payment goes to homes in council tax bands A to D. In Uttlesford that's 55% of homes, against 81% in England.
Credit: Uttlesford Green Party; data: Valuation Office AgencyHare coursing: what to do, and who to call
If you live or farm in rural Uttlesford, you may have seen it: dogs set on hares across open fields. Hare coursing is a crime. It harms wildlife, damages farmland, crops, gates and fences, costs farmers and landowners money, and spreads fear in rural areas. When the Sentencing Council, which sets guidelines for the courts, published a new…
Credit: Trevor Harris, via Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0Greens urge Chancellor not to shy away from taxing ‘obscene’ wealth and profits as concerns rise over business-as-usual Budget
The Green Party is proposing a set of measures at the Budget to support struggling households to afford essentials and ensure super wealthy individuals and corporations pay their fair share.
Credit: Jim Osley, via Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0What do you want to pay for the police and fire services? Tell the PFCC by 11 November
Part of every council tax bill in Uttlesford goes to Essex Police and to Essex County Fire and Rescue Service. That part, called the precept, is set each year by the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for Essex, Roger Hirst. He is asking how much you would be prepared to pay towards both in 2027/28, and his survey closes on Wednesday 11…
Credit: Jim Osley, via Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0Two climate grants for villages: what they pay for and when they close
If your parish council, village hall or community group has an idea for cutting carbon or helping nature, two grants are open now, but both close soon – the first on 12 November. Here is what each pays for, who can apply and when it closes. Zero Carbon Communities: up to £10,000, closes midday Friday 4 December This is Uttlesford District…
Credit: Philip Jeffrey, via Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0Community transport: have your say by Friday 30 October
Essex County Council (ECC) wants to hear from you about community transport – the minibuses, door-to-door services and volunteer drivers that get people to hospital appointments, the shops or a friend's house – by Friday 30 October. It matters in a rural district like ours, and ECC wants to know how people use it and what's missing. Its Community…
Credit: Tim Heaton, via Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0Doing the small, local stuff too…
This week Edward has braved the heat and been mowing the churchyard. Mowing with his scythe, as all mowing was originally done!
Zack Polanski launches Green Party local election campaign with affordable housing pledge
Zack Polanski launched the Green Party’s local election campaign in Deptford, highlighting Green successes in creating affordable housing for local people.
Credit: Green PartyUttlesford Green Party announces its Candidates for the 2026 Essex County Council Election
With membership numbers at both local and national level having tripled over the past 6 months, and on the back of a historic win in the recent Gorton & Denton by-election, the…
Our 2026 Crowd Funding Campaign is now live
As a small band of activists, we need both physical and financial help to promote our policies across the constituency.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Hannah Spencer on a well-deserved victory.
Would you rather get our news by email?An occasional email with what we are doing and what is coming up.
Get the newsletter2025
Zack Polanski Elected Leader of the Green Party of England & Wales
Zack Polanski has been elected Leader, promising to create “a country where no one is left behind”.
2024
Kemi Badenoch - Climate Change Denier
Our MP, Kemi Badenoch, has received £10,000 from the chair of climate science denial group The Global Warming Policy Foundation.
Austerity’s Children
The UK child poverty rate will rise from today’s 4.3 million to beyond 4.5 million by Christmas.
Plastic Pollution here to stay?
Just as in COP 28 where 2,456 fossil fuel lobbyists undermined the final outcome, something similar seems to have happened to the Global Plastic Reduction Treaty, resulting in no final agreement to reduce the £610 billion plastic production industry.
Calling Out Short-Termism
We can see how extreme our weather is becoming. Farmers are struggling. There is no time to be lost: Vote Green!
The Green Party needs you
We've set up a brand-new crowdfunding page, and are asking for donations to help get the word out ahead of the General Election on July 4th 2024.
Weather!
“If anyone can sort this ruddy weather out, they’d definitely get my vote!”
A Green Perspective on the UDC Draft Local Plan
Edward Gildea reviews Uttlesford District Council's draft local plan.
Community Energy
A letter from Edward Gildea to Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP, 29th February 2024.
Time for a change?
Edward Gildea wonders, in the wake of continued drama around Kemi Badenoch and Post Office chief Henry Staunton, whether local Conservative Party members might wish to deselect her as MP and find someone more focused on what matters.
Cutting back on our Future
The Labour Party has reneged on its promise of a green investment plan.
So how did we do in 2023?
2023 was not a good year. We are already starting to see serious impacts from climate change, with much worse to come if something isn't done. A positive result for the Green Party in 2024 has never been more important.
2023
AGM & public meeting
After our AGM on Thursday (November 16th), we'll be having an Open Evening for anyone to attend, in which Edward Gildea will explain our policies and answer any questions.
Vigil for Climate Action
As the government backtrack on climate pledges Green Party members joined Saffron Walden Quakers in a Vigil for Climate Action on Sunday, October 1 outside the Friends Meeting…
Inflationary Cannon Fodder
The Government is making us its cannon fodder, and it doesn't even have the decency to be sorry about it.
Off to the Arctic!
Saffron Walden grandfather and environmental campaigner, Edward Gildea, is setting sail once again, this time to the Arctic Ocean.
Ultra Processed Food Scandal
Wow! What an awesome display of physical fitness as the best female cyclists in the world swept through Saffron Walden! Such grace and power! They flowed effortlessly up hills…
Wasteland Book Launch: The Dirty Truth about our Waste
Local writer Oliver Franklin-Wallis launched his new book ‘Wasteland’ at Harts Books in Saffron Walden. It's a well-researched and well-written book on a subject that too often gets swept under the rug.
Manifesto 2023
Read our manifesto today. Vote Green on May 4th!
Has the era of cheap food come to an end?
Food prices remain at their highest in 45 years. With the climate continuing to change, can things improve?
District Council Elections May 2023
Would you be willing to stand in the forthcoming local elections?
2022
A Sustainable Green Local Plan
A plan for a district which guarantees a high quality of life and well-being: where residents are fairly and equitably treated with opportunities enabling all to live healthy and fulfilling lives. A plan for creating a district which is sustainable, resilient, ecologically diverse, and beautiful.
Saffron Walden Eco-Market 2022
Uttlesford Green Party were pleased to be one of the stall holders at this year’s Eco-Market. We were happily and appropriately sited between CURAT - Cam Upper Reaches Action…
HRH Queen Elizabeth II
We are greatly saddened by the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She was the rock that united the country.
Paying the price
Let’s be in no doubt about it. Humanity is beginning to pay the price for our negligence about the Climate Crisis, and that price is only going to increase.
Proposal for reduced mow and wildflowers on Saffron Walden Castle Mound
The land around Saffron Walden castle is, perhaps the most iconic and least exploited area of public land in Saffron Walden. The new gateway by the mini-roundabout however, has massively improved its accessibility, impact and footfall. It has immense potential to become a civic wildflower meadow, with space and increased scope for public enjoyment…
Solar Energy at Wickham Hall
A vital opportunity missed: Uttlesford District Council block the Wickham Hall solar energy scheme.
Waive The Visas
People across the UK have been gathering to ask the government to waive visa requirements for refugees.
This is not the time to suck up to dictators and psychopaths
“I am deeply ashamed by the Prime Minister’s current visit to Saudi Arabia to visit the crown prince. It is the act of a government that has completely lost its moral compass,” writes Edward Gildea.
Vigil in support of Ukraine
It was with great sadness that members of Uttlesford Green Party joined the mayor’s vigil for Ukraine on 3rd March.
Protest is not a crime
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is in the House of Lords, and has had deeply worrying amendments slipped into it that would enable dictatorial powers and remove our most basic democratic rights and freedoms.
UDC Climate Change Action Plan
Edward Gildea speaks to Uttlesford District Council's scrutiny committee in support of the council's proposed Climate Crisis Action Plan, 16 December 2021.
2021
Ring out for Climate
Let our Bells be our voice for Climate Justice at COP26! Ring them at 6pm on Oct 30th for 30 minutes to call for action on climate change.
The time for Biggering is over!
Cllr Trilby Roberts and Edward Gildea were delighted to present copies of ‘The Lorax’ to all four Primary Schools in Saffron Walden.
Climate Change denial still rife
Exxon Mobil and others, while profiting from making our planet uninhabitable, have spent millions trying to manufacture enough doubt to buy themselves time for further short-termist shareholderism.
The Great Big Green Week in Saffron Walden
In September communities across the country will join together for the Great Big Green Week. It will be the biggest event for climate and nature ever in the UK, and everyone’s…
Freak Weather & COP 26
Last week’s torrential downpour and flooding was a clear indication that we are now suffering our own extreme weather events. Whether the next one will be a heatwave that poses a real threat to the elderly, or another flood, is anyone’s guess, but the climate crisis, with all its life-threatening catastrophes, is clearly underway.
Credit: UK Cabinet Office, Open Government Licence v3.0It is time to get excited
It is time to get excited about the possibilities of a life lived in harmony with planet Earth!
What does Climate Justice actually mean?
When I take to the streets to protest about the destruction of the planetary balance we depend on, the most popular chant is:
What happened to our democracy?
The executive and senior officers of Uttlesford disregarded the unanimous will of its elected members to reject the application for Stansted Airport expansion, and gave it the green light.
Greens double their vote in ECC elections
Massive congratulations to our candidates. A brilliant campaign, and the vote doubled!
Underwhelming Action by Essex Climate Action Commission
‘The proposals by the Essex Climate Action Commission are underwhelming, to say the least,’ says Edward Gildea, candidate for Saffron Walden.
Voting Ethically
Ethics and politics seem to be uncomfortable bedfellows. Is there an ethical option when you cast your vote?
What is COP 26 and why does it matter?
COP is the ‘Conference of the Parties’ and the 2021 meeting in Glasgow this November will be the 26th meeting. They started following a UN treaty that came into force in 1994, with the first conference in 1995. 26 years later, with emissions continuing to rise, so much depends on what happens in Glasgow.
Credit: UK Cabinet Office, Open Government Licence v3.0A Green in the room makes change happen
The Green Party is expecting to make significant gains across the country in the local elections next month, as it stands a record number of candidates.
Working for a fair and just society
Trilby Roberts and Edward Gildea presented the Saffron Walden County High School librarian, Justine Lister, with a collection of books about the contribution of black people to our history, economy, culture and their sacrifice in two World Wars.
Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex Police Area
We are not putting a candidate forward for the role of Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. We are sceptical about the role, and the £5,000 deposit is unaffordable and seems undemocratic.
Commemoration service for the Duke of Edinburgh
Saffron Walden Town Councillor, Barbara Light pays her respects to Prince Philip and to the Queen at the memorial service held for Prince Philip on Sunday morning, joined by…
Uttlesford Green Party launches May 2021 Election Campaign
The Green Party is today launching its local election campaign with a pledge to build a Green Recovery in Uttlesford.
District Council By-election The Sampfords
Uttlesford Green Party are pleased to announce that Madeleine Radford will be our candidate in the District Council by-election for The Sampfords ward to be held on May 6th 2021.
District Council By-election Newport
Uttlesford Green Party are pleased to announce that Edward Gildea will be our candidate in the District Council by-election for Newport ward to be held on May 6th 2021.
Green Party Launches May Election Campaign
Jonathan Bartley: “After the long, dark winter of Covid we want to make sure that we bring spring into all our council chambers with new hope for a greener, more caring future”
Essex County Council Elections May 6th 2021
Postal votes must be applied for by 5pm on Apr 20th.
2019
Residents for an even greener Uttlesford
Uttlesford District Councillors from the local political party Residents for Uttlesford (R4U) have joined The Green Party. The councillors making the switch are Councillors Dr Barbara Light & Paul Fairhurst.
Parliamentary candidate hustings and selection
Given it seems there will be a general election, UGP members will select our candidate for Saffron Walden on Oct 10th.