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#Stroud

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Local Green politicians have paid tribute to John Marjoram, the first Green councillor ever to be elected in the UK, and the longest continuously serving Green councillor, who passed away yesterday (Saturday).

John was 86. He had been ill for some time and had stepped down from active politics in 2021.

A committed pacifist, environmentalist, internationalist, Quaker and anti-racist, John had lived in Stroud since 1968.

He played an active part in many campaigns, including opposing cuts to public services, the campaign against the Gulf War, and the campaign to remain in the EU.

He co-founded Stroud District Green Party in 1985 and was elected to Stroud District Council the followingyear, winning the Trinity ward seat and becoming the equal first Green Party councillor to be elected in the UK. He always said that the unfair First Past the Post voting system meant Greens had to work twice as hard to get elected but then worked twice as hard once elected; he campaigned hard for the voting system to be changed to proportional representation.

As well as being a District Councillor, John was one of the first councillors elected to Stroud Town Council when it was formed in 1990. He later became Mayor, being the UK's first Green Party mayor. John served as mayor for 10 civic years, and deputy mayor for seven. He introduced the concept of the ‘Mayor’s Bench’, a particular bench in the town centre where he would sit every Friday so that residents could come and talk to him.

In 2023, John received the title of Stroud Town’s first Honorary Freeman in recognition of his services to the community.

As a member of Stroud District Council’s planning committee he prevented many unsightly developments from happening locally.

He was pivotal in preventing one of Stroud’s most iconic landmarks, a former cloth factory called Hill Paul, from demolition. The town’s tallest building, it was due to be demolished in 2001. Thanks to John’s intervention with the owner, Hill Paul was eventually saved by members of the public, including some of the protesters, buying shares to fund the building’s conversion to a residential block.

Another iconic building saved from demolition thanks to John was Woodchester Mansion, then an unfinished and crumbling Victorian mansion near Stroud. John won by just two votes a motion calling on the then Tory-run council to purchase the building so that it could be refurbished, transferred to a trust and opened to the public.

John was a founding member of the successful Stroud Campaign Against the Ringroad (SCAR 1974-1978) Also high on his list of achievements was halting county council plans to route an A-road through the town centre. Ultimately the road was diverted and now runs around the outskirts of the town centre.

John was also involved with the high-profile Save our Trees campaign to stop trees from being cut down to facilitate a road-widening scheme and make way for a new Tesco store.

He helped a campaign to buy Lansdown Hall for the community and to rescue Stroud maternity hospital, which was facing closure for lack of government funding, and also the successful campaign to keep Uplands Post Office open.

Adrian Oldman, coordinator of Stroud District Green Party, said: “John
represented Stroud with integrity, dedication and a genuine desire to promote the well-being of people. He was inspirational; the ultimate community activist, using the local political process to help people and improve our community.

“He was tenacious, passionate, and always supported the underdog. He was a man of principle, always had time for others and a real commitment to help those who were in trouble.

“Our hearts go out to his wife, Laura, and his family.

“We owe him an immense debt of gratitude for his work building the party over the years and making it what it is today. Many existing and previous Green councillors stood for election because of John’s persuasion (myself included). We now have more than 400 paid-up members and run the minority administration on SDC, with 23 councillors. We have also been the majority on Stroud Town Council for many years.”
Photo credit: Simon Pizzey

#ukpol #Stroud #GreenParty

Stroud time and the 9 minute pause

Until the dawn of rail travel people lived their lives by solar time.

When the Great Western Railway arrived in 1845 Stroud time ran 9 minutes behind Greenwich Meantime.

After much confusion the town eventually adjusted and a clock was located on the High Street set to GMT.

Stroud was believed to be one of the last UK towns to adopt GMT. Our clock is set to Stroud Noon (12:09 GMT) in tribute to our proudly independent time zone.

**Festival highlights**

The 2025 Wotton Blues Festival will bring you a fantastic line up of top-class bands with some new additions, along with firm favourites we’ve been asked to bring back.

Once again we plan to have free workshops and tutorials during the weekend and buskers playing on Saturday and Sunday at various venues throughout the town.

https://www.wottonbluesfest.org/2025-wotton-blues-festival-date/

#wotton #stroud #gloucestershire

Have your say in #LocalElections in #Gloucestershire 1 May 2025 & local elections in England

Deadline for registering to #vote is 2359hrs tonight
gov.uk/register-to-vote

Don't want to worry about #VoterID ?
Going away?
Deadline for registering for a #PostalVote is 5pm on 14 April 2025
gov.uk/apply-postal-vote

#GreenParty
#Cheltenham
#Gloucester
#Stroud
#Cotswolds
#Cirencester
#Tewkesbury
#BishopsCleeve
#ForestOfDean
#Dursley
#Democracy

A public meeting has been arranged at which local politicians of all the main parties will explain and debate the implications of the proposed reorganisation of local government in Gloucestershire.

The meeting, at St Laurence Church, Stroud, from 7-9pm on March 14, will give residents the chance to find out more about the changes being imposed by the government.

Stroud District Council and the other five district councils in Gloucestershire, as well as Gloucestershire County Council, are set to be abolished and replaced with large ‘unitary’ authorities. Sitting above these unitary councils would be an even larger ’strategic authority’ headed by a Mayor serving around 1.5m people, over whom local communities may have little oversight or control.

The meeting has been organised by Stroud District Green Party, which felt residents deserved to know more about what the changes mean and to allow people to discuss the risks and opportunities for our local communities, services and democracy. There will be speakers from the Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green parties. Each speaker will present their own perspectives and opinions on the reorganisation, which was announced in the Government’s English Devolution White Paper in December.

Entry is free but is by ticket only; tickets are available from https://www.tickettailor.com/events/strouddistrictgreenparty/1606316 or by emailing data@stroudgreens.org.uk

Meeting coordinator Martin Whiteside said: “There is little understanding among the public of the implications for local democracy of these changes. Many people say they are not even aware that their local councils are being abolished. And many of those who have heard about the changes are very concerned about what it all means. The Green Party believes it is important to let residents know what is happening and give them the chance to find out more, from politicians across the political spectrum.”

Members of the public will have the chance to submit questions at the meeting, which will have a Question Time-style format. Questions can be sent in advance to data@stroudgreens.org.uk.

#Stroud #Devolution
@fkamiah17 I work in a market town in rural Gloucestershire. A Tory heartland in the shires. I'm engaged with the local community and a small business owner. Like many other Green Party members in our district we stood for election and won 22 seats. We are now the largest group at Stroud District Council.

So, for Mandelson to say that “The Green Party is becoming a dustbin, a repository not only for climate activists, but for disgruntled hard leftists." makes me think that he is so far out of touch with the ethos of the Green Party and the concerns of the electorate that his opinion is completely irrelevant. Maybe it is Mr Mandelson who should be consigned to the dustbin of history?

#Stroud #GreenParty #ukpol