READING’S Green party are looking to go toe-to-toe in the new Reading Central seat.
Dave McElroy, a councillor, has been picked to stand for the party in the July 4 general election, taking on Labour’s Matt Rodda, an unnamed Conservative challenger and Henry Wright for the Lib Dems.
There will also be a Reform UK candidate and, historically, there have been independent candidates too.
Based on last month’s local election results, the Reading Green Party is confident it can challenge Labour.
In a post on Twitter, retweeted by Mr McElroy, the party wrote: “Based on RBC local election data from 2024 Reading Central is looking like a two horse race – where voting Green allows you to support popular progressive policies in contrast to what Labour are offering with no risk of letting the Tories in.”
This view is based on a map showing the successes the Green party made in the May 2 poll, gaining an additional Green councillor and increasing their representation in the council chamber. They are also the main opposition party in Reading, with double the number of seats than the Conservatives.
And speaking to Reading Today, Mr McElroy said people in Reading were looking forward to casting their vote.
“There are a lot of people looking forward to scratching that itch,” he said of the poll.
“For me, I can’t wait to stand up as an alternative to the dinosaurs who got us here.”
He said he would be “demanding that water, hospitals and homes are for people not profit”.
He added: “I mean, who has no opinion on whether or not we should cut off water and power to children? Absolutely there are no circumstances where that is OK.
“Hopefully people recognise that the solution to our current situation can’t be more of the same, and they will consider voting for a party they want to win, rather than voting against a party they want to lose.”
