6th May 2005

Oxfordshire Greens are tonight celebrating winning 4 more seats on the
County Council. Only the Greens and the Tories made gains - both Labour and
the Liberal Democrats suffered heavy losses.

"What is clear", says Green Party County Cllr Craig Simmons who will now be
joined by four new colleagues, "is that the swing towards the Greens is a
positive vote for change - and not a tactical vote. We have gained County
seats in areas where we already have City Councillors. People who have seen
Greens in action want more of the same. We focused on County issues and put
a clear manifesto to the electorate. We will use our enhanced position on
the County to promote this policy platform at every opportunity, represent
those that elected us to the best of our ability, and be the opposition that
the Tories have never had."

Says Larry Sanders, one of the new intake of Green County Councillors:
"Green Party voters wanted to defeat Andrew Smith, the local representative
of New Labour's war, its failure to tackle Oxford's housing crisis and the
increasing privatisation of Social and Health Care. Many of them voted
tactically for the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate and then went on
to elect five Green County Councillors so we can carry on our work to
protect the environment and the people of our lovely County. The
Conservative group on the County Council has a sad record of cutting
services for the elderly and disabled. We hope their new Group will change.
If they return to their old ways we will oppose them and appeal to all
decent - minded people to join us."

Says Sushila Dhall, another of the new Green Councillors, "In local
elections, where people are less constrained by the unfair electoral system,
we are seeing more of a true picture of support for Green policies. The
Greens gained 22% of the vote across Oxford City. The highest ever. People
are voting for us because they want to protect services for vulnerable
people - rather than see them eroded still further. They want clear air
and safe transport, proper waste minimisation and recycling and an education system based on values not scores."

FMI: 0773 980 3047 Cllr Craig Simmons