Exeter Greens take overall control away from Labour

The Green Party has helped to take away Labour’s overall control of Exeter City Council, and are now:

celebrating a hugely successful set of results

Green Party gest ‘the most gains from Labour of any party’

Both of the Exeter Green candidates the Canary spoke to ahead of the election won their seats. Bernadette Chelvanayagam, for example, became the third Green councillor in her ward, unseating a Labour councillor. As she said in a press release:

Our membership has quadrupled in Exeter over the last year, to over 1100 members. This has swelled our number of volunteers who helped deliver leaflets and knocked on thousands of doors – these amazing results would not have been possible without them.

Jack Reed, meanwhile, helped to oust the deputy council leader.

The party’s statement asserted that:

All Green wins were won with a landslide

And it highlighted that:

Over 14,500 votes secured compared to under 10,000 each for Labour and Reform, setting [the] party on course to take parliamentary seat

It added that:

Greens successfully defended three seats and took three extra seats from Labour – the most gains from Labour of any party, and bringing an end to 16 years of Labour control of the City Council.

Green group leader Diana Moore, meanwhile, proudly stressed that:

Labour has lost control of Exeter but Reform has failed to make major gains.

Labour still has the largest group on the council, but it lost five councillors, leaving it two seats below what it needs for a majority.

Featured image via Exeter Green Party