The Green Party has selected former Lancaster City Councillor Gina Dowding as the prospective parliamentary candidate for the new Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.
Gina has lived in Lancaster for twenty years and was a member of Lancaster City Council’s cabinet until she stood down in May this year.
Eight years ago Gina was one of the very first Green Party councillors to be elected to local government. Gina found herself in the national news in 2002 when she blew the whistle on Lancaster City Council’s secret decision to grant rate relief to Heysham nuclear power station. A very popular local councillor, Gina was re-elected with a huge majority – receiving nearly 60% of the votes in a five-way race for her city centre seat.
Gina has previously worked for 12 years in public health development for the NHS. She currently cares for her elderly disabled parents, and her two children. She lives with her partner and sons in central Lancaster.
Gina said: “I am very excited about standing for the Greens again in the general election and am very optimistic about our prospects in this new constituency. After our recent local election successes, we hold 12 district council seats in the constituency, the same number as Labour, and one more than the Tories. The Green Party has positive polices which will protect our quality of life now and protect our planet for our children.
“We will be fighting this campaign on issues that are important to people in North Lancashire. In Lancaster this means ensuring that development is appropriate to the size and scale of Lancaster and an improved plan for the Canal Corridor which provides local jobs; improvements in local services, particularly for older people; and more young people-friendly places and activities in town; and real involvement of local people in decisions that affect them.”