The Green Party is busy preparing to bring its Autumn Conference to the BIC for the first time from September 25-28.
The event will provide a great platform for local Green Party members and supporters to showcase Bournemouth along with its newly elected and first ever Green Party councillor, Simon Bull. Bournemouth is traditionally a blue town with minority parties only ever scraping the odd seat from the Conservative stronghold. There are currently just three seats of the 54 that weren’t voted in the Conservative’s favour allowing The Green Party and Simon Bull to feel incredibly proud of their victorious ‘foot in the door’.
The party polled over 1.1 million votes at the General Election, but under the current electoral system of First Past the Post saw only one MP re-elected. Green Party Conference and Events Coordinator Louise Greenbaum said: “We’ve experienced unprecedented growth in our numbers during this election year. After record attendance at our Spring Conference in Liverpool earlier this year, we are now preparing for a similar attendance this month.
Fortunately, Bournemouth International Centre has more than enough capacity to cope. Apart from its capacity and choice of spaces, the venue is a good choice for us as it has solid environmental credentials reflected in, for example, its impressive energy use management and sustainable catering provision.”
With so many Green Party delegates expected in Bournemouth, the local party is doing its best to accommodate the visitors including some alternative options for people in need of financial support. Simon Bull commented: “We appreciate that not everyone can easily afford the cost of the conference, travel and accommodation so we are using our network of Green Party members and supporters to find spare rooms for delegates to stay in at a very reasonable price. We think it’s really important that we’re all inclusive as a party and members that want to come shouldn’t be dissuaded due to their financial limitations.”
Locally, South East Dorset Green Party is organising events in the town centre and on the beach giving national Green Party candidates the chance to socialise and network with the many ‘green’ community groups that run across Bournemouth.
The conference itself will feature keynote speeches and panels from the Party Leader, Natalie Bennett, Brighton’s Green MP, Caroline Lucas and many other high profile Green Party activists, campaigners and elected representatives.
Aside from speeches, there will be a range of workshops and fringe sessions on issues ranging from TTIP, Human Rights, Electoral Reform to the Paris Climate Talks.
Conference tickets are still available for members and can be purchased through the website. Non-members can purchase a ‘taster ticket’ on the door for £5 allowing entrance for the day including most of the sessions giving supporters a great opportunity to see the Green Party in action!
