Over the past couple of weeks, my focus has been on preparing seven candidates for the upcoming county council elections. Each candidate requires six forms to be completed, along with two local supporters to act as proposer and seconder. These supporters must live within the candidate’s division and provide their electoral numbers. It’s a detailed process, and accuracy matters. Each nomination also needs to be signed off by the candidate’s agent and authorised by a Green Party official. To simplify things, we appointed a single agent to act for all seven candidates, which made coordination much easier. Alongside the formal process, we wanted each candidate to appear on our website with a short biography and a clear explanation of why they are standing. This led to some important conversations. At county level, you have to be careful about what you promise. There is no value in offering solutions to issues that sit outside your sphere of influence. Clarity here matters, both for candidates and for voters. One of our members, who works professionally in photography, took portraits of each candidate. The difference is striking. Instead of looking like generic campaign figures, they look like real people who live locally and care about their communities. Another of our members is a professional communications expert and graphic designer. His work has significantly raised the quality of our leaflets and social media posts, both in terms of design and messaging. We now have everything prepared and ready for submission this week. It has been another steep learning curve. This year we are standing seven candidates. Next year, the plan is closer to twenty-one.

Over the last month some of you may have noticed I was quieter here than usual. There was a reason. About a month ago I was asked to become 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆, with just a few weeks to help run a Town Council by-election. Last night the result came in. 𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗻. For the first time a Green councillor has been elected to that council. This was absolutely a 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁, and two members of this Has2BGreen community — our 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿 — played important roles in making the campaign succeed. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗛𝗮𝘀𝟮𝗕𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 Has2BGreen exists for several reasons. Yes, we study the 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀. Yes, we try to understand the 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲-𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘁. But the deeper purpose is something else: • rebuilding communities. • Locally and internationally. • Because the truth is simple: 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. Understanding the big global problems matters. But meaningful change only happens when that understanding is 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Working with real people.Solving real problems.Building real systems. This campaign became a small example of that process. 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦 My role focused mainly on systems and coordination. Using my database background, I built a campaign system that combined several data sources: • the electoral register • absent voters lists • the marked register (who had voted) • Green Party membership records • canvassing data from volunteers On election day we added a sixth stream — 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. This allowed us to see, almost in real time: • who had voted • who had pledged support • who still needed a reminder Because of that system we were able to run a 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 on the final evening. Instead of volunteers wandering large areas knocking randomly, they received 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀, focusing only on supporters who had not yet voted.

There is so much more to add to this group but there is also a need to take action in the real world. The reports I read while creating the courses for this group make it clear that we need to act quickly to mitigate what is coming our way. Everything is happening faster than the scientists expected. Reading this material can make you feel as though we are in the Twilight Zone. But is what I am reading the product of being within an echo chamber?- i.e. I am seeing things that are brought to my attention because I am going down a specific path of exploration. Yes, for sure. But I do look at what the opponents to the "Climate Crisis" movement say. I also look at the articles shared with me by those who accept climate change is real, but not really that bad. So I get to see articles from many angles and see which ones hold up. I have great plans to review all of this and share what I find - what is true and what is not... as far as I can make out. However, the people who carry the most weight with me have detailed evidence and can articulate the issue at several layers. Climate deniers typically have a single layer and then rely on the "trust me" line. So I felt the need to participate in the political realm, and as a result, over the last three weeks, I have been preparing to become the Campaigns Officer for the Green Party of East Hampshire, UK. I have now been voted into the post. The purpose of this group was always to help me become a better campaigner and politician, and present the data on what I had done and what others might do to take action that will affect our futures. So my goals are being acted on, and now that this has been accomplished, I plan to update the course to include the issues that have emerged, the complexities of running a community/volunteer-based group, and the results we have achieved. We have five elections over the next three years. Town Councils, County Councils, Unitary Councils, Mayor's election and Member of Parliament to the UK Government.

Thank you all for being here — and welcome to our 30th member. This space is still in its early days, and there’s a lot happening behind the scenes. Some of what I’m working on will start appearing in the Classroom soon. There’s already a substantial amount of material there to explore, and I genuinely welcome any feedback you’re willing to share. I’m actively learning what works and what doesn’t — both here and by being part of other communities — and I’m refining things as we go. Right now, the Classroom is unapologetically dense. It’s a wall of data. Valuable, but heavy. That’s intentional — at least at this stage. I wanted to properly understand how we got here: What was known, when it was known, and what happened after we found out. We all know that end-of-the-world messaging is a hard sell — and an even harder foundation for elections or collective action. But some of us (me included) prefer a cold dose of reality over comforting stories. I’d rather know the truth than be sold unrealistic dreams. For years, I watched documentary after documentary about nature and wildlife. They’d show collapsing ecosystems, vanishing species — and then end with a hopeful note about one valiant individual making a tiny difference. That always frustrated me. It felt… incomplete. Too small. As if the scale of the problem was being quietly minimised. Almost like being gently gaslit into optimism. So I kept asking: why is everything taking so long? What I’m finding is layer upon layer of inertia. Systems designed to preserve the status quo. Not through conspiracy — but through structure, incentives, and daily habits. I wanted to understand how that inertia actually works in practice. What slows things down. What bypasses it. What genuinely moves the needle. While working on this, global events have inevitably affected my own mood and optimism — the actions of the U.S. president, the ongoing slaughter in Gaza, the absence of meaningful leadership across much of Europe and the wider world.

Growth, Strain, and the Quiet Work of Leadership Since September 2025 our local Green Party membership has grown from 140 to 432 members. That kind of growth is extraordinary. It did not primarily come from local campaigning. It came from national visibility — particularly the raised profile of figures like Zak Polanski — and from wider political shifts that have prompted people to look for alternatives. Growth is good. But growth is not neutral. Growth changes the internal physics of a system. And that is what I want to reflect on here — calmly, honestly, and without drama. Growth Is Stress When a community triples in size in a short period of time, the structure that held it at 140 members is suddenly holding 432. Communication systems strain. Decision-making pathways clog. Expectations multiply. New members arrive with energy, ideas, and urgency. Long-standing leaders find themselves operating in a very different environment than the one they helped build. At the same time, some of our long-standing leadership has been stepping down. That is natural. It happens in all organisations. But when rapid expansion and leadership transition occur simultaneously, it creates a governance pressure point. This is not about individuals. It is about systems under load. Where strain exists, unresolved tensions that were once manageable can surface more clearly. What was informal may need formalisation. What relied on trust may need process. What depended on personality may need structure. That is not failure. It is evolution. Process Matters More Than Personality Recently, a formal complaints process has been initiated. I will not discuss details. Confidentiality matters. People deserve dignity. Due process exists for a reason. My role has been simple: to listen carefully, document accurately, and ensure that procedures are followed properly. Not to judge. Not to inflame. Not to pick sides. When governance strain surfaces, there are two temptations: 1. To personalise it. 2. To avoid it.