Can you help us get prospective Green Party candidate Darren Jones elected to Parliament for Bournemouth West?

Darren has lived in Bournemouth for his entire life. His family home is in West Howe, where he lives with his wife Tammie. He’s been self employed since 2000, working in Music Technology and education with a variety of roles, plus performing music and creating online educational content. He’s a keen mountain biker.

Having spent the last few years self-building an extension to his house, he’s become increasingly aware of the effects of our lifestyles on the natural environment, how many resources are needed for our current way of life, and how small decisions can have long-term impact. Finding an immaculate, discarded 50-year-old crisp packet in the foundations of his home sparked a chain of events which has led him to standing as a Parliamentary candidate for the Green Party, hoping to serve the residents of the town he has always lived in, and work towards improving their lives, the town, and the environment.  

Completing an apprenticeship in the nuclear industry after leaving school, he understands the scale of the changes needed for our clean energy, transport and industrial transition to create a truly sustainable society which will work for all – both in terms of technology and society.

This transition is achievable in a generation, but only with the ambition that the Green Party is demonstrating.

Change can be difficult, but it will bring great rewards and a brighter future. Darren is standing on a platform of personal change, being a life-long lover of cars and motorbikes, and having altered his lifestyle from one competing in rally driving (up to World Rally Championship level in Wales four times) to one where an electric vehicle is the transport of choice, and walking and cycling more common than any other mode of travel.

The Green Party does not participate in the system of legalised bribery and corruption that dominates UK politics. At the last general election, Labour and the Conservatives spent roughly £4 million pounds, more than 10 times the amount spent by the Green Party. Outside of election time Labour and the Tories outspend Greens by an even greater ratio.

In the last few years Conservatives received £800,000 linked to private health care. Already Labour's Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting's has personally received £175,000 linked to private health care providers.

The money MPs receive from sources like this and people Frank Hester and Lord Donoughue is dependent on them advocating for them in Parliament rather than for their constituents. This situation lies at the heart of so many terrible decisions made by both Conservative and Labour governments over the last 40 years.

However, by running efficient and effective campaigns Greens are winning elections at a startling rate. Once people realise they have a Green candidate who will answer to them rather than to party execs and donors, they switch almost immediately. Even in First Past the Post local elections Greens have been winning landslide victories like those seen in Bournemouth wards such as Moordown and Winton East. This is why there has been an astronomical growth in the number of Green Councillors across the UK: