First Green on South Gloucestershire Council as Labour cabinet member defects

Sean Rhodes, who has represented Kingswood since 2023, is now South Gloucestershire Council’s first Green Party councillor.

Rhodes explained:

As part of the South Glos Council administration, we have worked hard to improve the lives of residents in ever more difficult economic circumstances but the Labour government have absolutely failed in their promise to bring positive change to our country.

The decisions made by this Labour government are making things worse for working people, and now we see them going through the same political soap opera that the Conservatives did in their end days.

The Green Party has a clear focus on improving the lives of people in our community who are disadvantaged, under represented and struggling to lead a happy, fulfilling life. So when I see the under-resourced plans the government has for children with special educational needs and disabilities, I know that the Green Party is my real home.

I have real hope and optimism for Kingswood. We are building a community that I believe the Green Party will value and protect. I am proud to continue working hard for Kingswood as your Green Party Councillor.

As a Kingswood councillor for the past three years, Rhodes has been involved in an impressive list of projects for South Gloucestershire as a whole and particularly for Kingswood. Most recently he spear-headed work to secure a new long term operator for Grimsbury Community Farm keeping the site safe for the community. Rhodes is also working to deliver a new community hub in The Old Library building which will include a youth centre in the heart of Kingswood.

Rhodes has supported Kingswood residents in disputes with landlords and helped disabled residents apply for grants to make adaptations to their homes. He has also championed road repairs on behalf of residents, and dealt with missed bin collections.

Rhodes has worked alongside the Friends of Southey Park, and the Friends of Kingswood Park to deliver improvements such as the new steps and additional tree planting in Southey park; and the £3.3m regeneration scheme in Kingswood park. He has also been working closely with the regeneration team as lead member on the Kingswood regeneration scheme on the High Street with a value of £5.5m.

Siân Harris, coordinator of South Gloucestershire Green Party, said:

Sean is a hard-working local councillor who is deeply committed to Kingswood and its people. Sean’s values of caring for others and for our local environment are well aligned with the Green Party.

We are delighted to welcome him to South Glos Greens and look forward to supporting him in his continued work on South Gloucestershire Council. Next May every voter in South Gloucestershire will have an opportunity to vote Green and we hope to build on these new Green foundations on the Council.

Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, congratulated Rhodes on his move:

We welcome the news of the first Green Party district councillor in South Gloucestershire. Our party has more than quadrupled in size in the past year and, with the recent local elections, we now have more councillors in England than ever before.

Greens in South Gloucestershire are committed to improving the lives of local residents and protecting our natural environment.

Rhodes and other members of the Green Party will be out in Kingswood on Sunday 5 July. They will be meeting residents and hearing what the people of Kingswood want from their council.

Featured image via the Canary