I came back from a Green Party meeting last night feeling really inspired and feeling like there was going to be some sort of change in the next year. All my life I’ve heard people complaining, suggesting how they’d do things, what they feel is wrong with society and when I turned 18 earlier this year I decided that I was going to do something about this.

When I was 11 I remember meeting like minded people (I kid you not) who were fed up with the current local government (Tory dominated) and how we’d do things differently. Fast forward to seven years later and I’m getting involved, but are they? The answer is no. They are not, but they aren’t the only ones who aren’t.

The local area has many opportunities for people of all ages to weigh in on local issues, ways to get involved and do something like the Western Wards Community Action Team (CAT) meetings or Warsash Resident’s Association. The problem however is that the main turnout for these events are usually retired pensioners. Not everyone in the area is aware, what we are missing at these events are parents, teachers, doctors, nurses, teenagers, basically the rest of the population.  I reckon there isn’t enough in terms of awareness of these events, if I were a Councillor for the area I would actively go to schools and talk about the electoral process and how with a single vote you can destroy a government without killing a single person, contrary to what Mr Brand believes.   

I do whatever I can with the resources I’ve got to get people involved, and to really (in the words of Jack Black in ‘School of Rock’) “Stick it to the man”. There’s a common misconception going around that when someone says “Get involved” it means “Stand for an election”. Now I would love it if there was hundreds of people queuing up to be a paper candidate, but at this point in time we just need people – members or not, supporters or friends to help us show the political elite what we mean when we say we, the people, want change!

I would argue, ideally, that people should ignore the media spin on politicians. That not everyone who is on a ballot paper isn’t just in it for the money/power but some, like Aristotle would argue, some are in it to make a difference and genuinely make life better for everyone.

I will be standing for election again in Warsash next May, where the Local & Euro Elections will be held.  We can make this idea a reality.

Thanks for reading

Miles Grindey