At our XR Dorking/XR Reigate and Redhill People’s Assembly earlier this year, we set up a Working Group on Councillor Engagement. This summarises the plan created by this Group:
Our objective is to put the climate and ecological emergency on the agenda in the local elections in May. As many candidates as possible should be made aware that the climate and ecological emergency is a priority for many residents in their ward. Using an approach developed by the South East Climate Alliance (SECA), candidates are asked to sign an ABCD pledge card (below) that commits them to action in 4 areas – Aim Higher, Build Biodiversity, Communicate and Divest.
What do we want to achieve?
To put the climate and ecological emergency on the agenda in the local elections in May:
- All candidates are made aware that the climate and ecological emergency is a priority for many residents in their ward
- All candidates are asked to sign an ABCD Pledge Card that commits them to action in 4 areas – Aim Higher, Build Biodiversity, Communicate and Divest.
- The list of candidates who sign the pledge will be publicised so that voters know who supports climate action. See http://bit.ly/ABCDsignatories to see this as it develops.
How will this be achieved?
1. We are asking residents across Surrey, who want to see action to tackle the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, to contact the candidates in their county council ward and district/borough ward who are up for election.
2. Put your postcode into https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/ and this will confirm the wards (County and possibly District/Borough) and all candidates standing that you can vote for. You may also be able to get contact details from election leaflets or local party offices.
3. A sample email for this has been developed, at https://docs.google.com/document/d/13Y2uoxW_zNiqNeMtMhh9pkGvZVSGAss85sielxPqoJQ/edit?usp=sharing
The email includes a request to candidates to sign the Pledge Card, which is attached as a pdf and asks the candidate to take a selfie of them holding the pledge card and send it to pledgeforclimate@gmail.com
So please do write to the candidates in your area to ask them to commit to the ABCD pledge.
