Peter Bisset
A resident of Petersfield, although sometimes away for long periods, since 1983. I am a green councillor on Petersfield Town Council, first elected in 2019.
After working and living in rural areas of Africa and the Middle East for 25 years we returned to the UK so our children could go through state school once they reached secondary age. Public school would have been paid for by my employers but we wanted a normal family life. We have always been green, thinking about our choices and the effect they might have on the environment and other people worldwide. However, it was only when my children reached voting age and their attitude and that of their friends was;
“Get a life, don’t bother with politics it makes no difference who you vote for or if you don’ t vote at all.”
That I thought I should step up and give them something to vote for. They almost persuaded me to stop voting, but having lived in various one-party states or outright dictatorships, experiencing coups, I found that our system whilst so biased towards a 2 party adversarial system promoting continuous campaigning and an absence of government, still held out some possibility for progressive policies. I was a founder member of East Hampshire Green Party. I have held several offices including treasurer and convenor at various times.
Standing for parliament in the 2015 election (and as a candidate in the local elections), gave me some optimism about East Hampshire. My campaign tactic was to engage personally so I went door to door to every house in Petersfield and Liss and much of Alton, 10 hours a day for 6 weeks. Other areas were covered by other party members. Almost everyone was welcoming, many had never been canvassed before, almost none had met a candidate. By the time the count came we were being taken seriously by the other parties and kept our deposit. It is something everyone should do once in their life. I found it fun, so good to meet and learn about people you would normally never meet, and finally understanding how our political system works.
In 2019 I had decided to stand as a paper candidate to promote the party in the local elections and assess the Green vote, but looking at the wards it was clear that some might just go Green, so I chose one of these, we actively campaigned, mostly door to door, and I won the seat. I also stood in Rowland’s Castle for the EHDC election, very much a paper candidate, but I could not resist a few mornings going door to door. Amazingly we polled really well, the incumbent Tory looking more and more worried at the count as our pile grew alongside his. In the event he won, but I’m sure he will be working much harder for his constituents, a result in itself.
Life on PTC has its ups and downs. The 2019 election changed the face of the council putting progressives on an equal footing with the Tories. Since then we have lost one Lib-Dem replaced by a Tory and my two fellow Green councillors both had to resign because they got jobs which precluded a political life. One was replaced by a Green and the other a Tory. However, by bridge building and consensus finding the council is still tipping towards climate emergency fighting policies and managing our green spaces for biodiversity and carbon capture as well as amenity. The proposed rebuild of the Festival Hall will now only go ahead if it results in significant carbon gains.
I am chair of the Town Development Committee (TDC), a forward looking body aiming to implement the Petersfield Neighbourhood Plan that was endorsed by the population in a referendum. Key areas are promoting a vibrant active travel friendly town centre and maintaining our built, green and blue infrastructure. The TDC brings together elected people from the Town, District, County and National Park, so it is a good forum to bring a Green viewpoint to all levels of local government.
We are developing our climate action plan and I lead this working group. A well argued strategy should be able to pass full council, giving us firm targets to put our own house in order and have wider influence.
Local residents are free to address any council meeting for 3 minutes, you just need to ask the Clerk, Neil Hitch, for a slot the day before. Despite the formal look of the council chamber, all councillors are keen to hear from residents and often standing orders are suspended to allow further discussion. Our climate policy, pesticide free policy, tree wardening and active travel have all been championed by residents. As an insider I have been able to help these navigate the council. Everything seems to take so long, but in the end nothing works without widespread support and buy-in. Having said that I firmly believe that local government should play a leadership role towards a better future and not just react to popular demand that often equates to NO CHANGE PLEASE; when we all know that this is not an option.
