The pair of Geraldine Coggins and Dan Jerrome re-wrote the party record books by securing the Greens’ first ever seats in Trafford.
Coggins and Jerrome who secured 1,621 and 1,944 votes respectively stunned those in attendance by claiming the two Conservative seats of Altrincham.
Pundits had initially claimed that the main story which may come out of Trafford would be the potential first council victory since 2004 for Labour.
However, even though Labour did end the Conservative’s time in power, the Green’s victory stole the show.
The party came close two years ago in the same ward, finishing up in runners-up position to the ruling party, but their victory will taste even sweeter as their two seats have ensured the Tories did not gain control.
From Altrincham to Burnley, the Green Party can win anywhere, because people want local politicians rooted in the community and standing up for local people. https://t.co/kpouog6NH2
— Green Altrincham (@GreenAlty) 4 May 2018
Coggins said: “Oh great, we are delighted, going forward we are going to keep doing what we did before.
“We really believe in going out and engaging with residents and listening to their issues and working on things that matter to them. Getting things done.
“I suppose we have been able to do a lot of that by putting pressure on the council from the outside but we feel like we can achieve so much more now that we are elected councillors.”
Among the issues which the Greens have proposed to solve includes that of affordable housing which they believe has hit Altrincham particularly hard.
The party have in recent years also been campaigning nationally for a change in the electoral system which they believe unfairly discriminates against them.
“The electoral system is not the most democratic and we would like to see it changed you know.
“But given the way it is, it shows that even when the system is biased against us people really believe in what the Greens stand for and there is a lot of support out there for us.
“People are often afraid to vote for us even though they would like us to represent them because they feel they have got to choose between two big parties.
“People know that they had an option.”
