Greens offer 'boldness and bravery' in target seat

Ellie Chowns (left) toured the Wye Valley Brewery with joint party leader Carla Denyer on Thursday

The joint leader of the Green Party has visited Herefordshire, with a seat there among its targets in next month's election.

Launching her party's campaign last month, Carla Denyer told supporters that the Greens were "looking to win at least four Green MPs".

The party claims the North Herefordshire seat is a "straight fight" between it and the Conservatives.

But the Tories have held it for more than 100 years.

• See all the candidates standing in North Herefordshire

The joint leader arrived on a delayed train from London before speaking to supporters on the doorstep, saying she was impressed by the number of Green Party poster boards in front gardens around the town.

Ms Denyer said she was hopeful Ellie Chowns could win the seat on 4 July, but at the last election the Tories received 63% of the vote share with Bill Wiggin again victorious.

Winning would be a colossal victory for the Greens, a party that has never had an MP in the West Midlands.

It was Ms Denyer's first visit to North Herefordshire during the general election campaign

Ms Denyer moved on to tour Wye Valley Brewery.

Voters can choose whether they want Conservatives or Greens as their MP, "and what we're hearing on the doorsteps is that many of them want change", Ms Denyer said.

"They're obviously not going to get that from the Conservatives."

The same candidate stood in 2019 and got under 5,000 votes, so would a Green victory be realistic in North Herefordshire?

"So much has changed since 2019, including the level of campaigning we're doing in this constituency," Ms Denyer said.

"Ellie, here in North Herefordshire, and myself in Bristol had only been selected shortly before the election so fair enough, voters had not had the chance to get to know us as much as they now have.

"A vote for Green anywhere in the country is a message to the incoming government that you want your politicians to be a bit more brave, be a bit more imaginative with what this country can be making it a fairer greener country."