Now is the time: Calderdale Greens leader hails membership boost
Martin Hey believes the Greens' policies are now cutting through more than ever before as his party continues to grow locally and nationally
Hello and welcome to The Calderdale Lead.
I hope you’re having a good week so far.
For today’s edition, I sat down with Martin Hey, the leader of Calderdale’s Green Party to chat about the rapid growth in membership numbers both locally and nationally since Zack Polanski was elected as the new party leader.
Martin is always someone I’ve found to be very thoughtful about politics and it was great to catch up with him and chat about why he thinks the party is growing and their ambitions for next year’s council elections.
So, let’s get to it!
Calderdale briefing
👍🏻Calderdale Council’s adults’ social services have been rated “good” by the national independent health and social care regulator.
Following inspection in the spring, Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors said a person-centred approach, ensuring they get the right care and support at the right time has been central to achieving the rating.
The inspectors said people told them they appreciated the early intervention and community-based support, enhancing their independence and quality of life.
Good leadership and developing its workforce in these areas were also a council strength, taking in training, apprenticeships and professional development, including support for newly-qualified social workers.
Redesign of carers’ assessments and transformation of direct payments were among changes playing a part, said the inspectors, who found leadership and partnership working were “robust” and “strong” producing “a culture of continuous improvement.”
However, some areas need improving – there are significant delays persisting in assessments and reviews – some waiting “several years” – communicating information about services could be better, particularly for people struggling to obtain materials in appropriate formats or languages, and better transition planning for children moving into adults’ social services needed.
🍂 With October half term on the horizon, Calderdale Council is working with providers to support another Healthy Holidays activity programme, after a record-breaking summer.
Local families can now book on to activities for October half term, as part of the partnership between Calderdale Council, the Community Foundation for Calderdale (CFFC) and local organisations. The programme has been providing free activities and nutritious meals to children and young people in the school holidays since 2021.
The October activities follow the programme’s busiest summer, successfully reaching more families, with over 8000 attendees at sessions hosted by a range of providers across the borough.
Activities included kayaking, performing arts, cooking workshops, swimming and much more, with additional specialist provision for children with specialist education needs or disabilities (SEND).
The October programme runs from 27-31 October. To view the programme and to book a place, click here.
Greens have big ambitions ahead of Calderdale elections
By Andrew Greaves
The leader of Calderdale’s Green Party is confident his party’s policies are finally cutting through as they prepare for next year’s council elections.
Membership numbers, both locally and nationally, have surged in recently weeks on the back of the party electing Zack Polanski as its new leader.
In Calderdale, membership has hit a historic high of 550 – more than double the number at this time last year, with more than 200 people - many ex-Labour members - having joined since Polanski got the top job last month.
And Hey said: “It’s been brilliant to see so many new people get involved. It’s what we’ve been hoping for — to really cut through with our message.
“I stood at the general election in Halifax, and the policies that Zak’s talking about now, including the wealth tax, were in the manifesto then. The difference is that he’s managing to get that message across powerfully, and we’re all benefiting from that.”
The rise of Reform UK over the last 18 months has seen the old two-party system fractured and has led to both the Conservatives, struggling to get a foothold under new(ish) leader Kemi Badenoch, and Labour reassess their stance and rhetoric on issues such as immigration.
But Hey believes people don’t always agree and follow the anti-immigration noise that has been a constant over the past six to 12 months.
“Most people in this country support immigration and understand how vital it is to the NHS and care services. We’re simply reflecting what the majority of people already believe,” he said."
“At the same time, I think political messaging needs to calm down. In diverse areas like Halifax, people can feel vulnerable when they hear multiple parties implying that certain groups aren’t welcome.”
Polanski himself is an interesting character but Hey is keen to point out that he’s been on a journey to arrive at Green politics when I suggest the party is perhaps seeing a ‘Jeremy Corbyn-style’ moment, similar to when the former Labour leader helped swell that party’s membership in the late 2010s.
He said: “He’s not a Jeremy Corbyn clone, but he is different from other party leaders. He hasn’t been steeped in Green politics all his life — he’s come to it through his own understanding of what needs to change in the country.
“He speaks directly and connects especially well with young people. That’s reflected in the surge of younger members joining and wanting to campaign.
“In the past, some may have seen Green membership as a bit like joining Friends of the Earth, which has never really been the case. Now people see it as joining a cause — and most want to get out there and campaign for real change.”
Next year will see all council seats in Calderdale come up for election, a rare ocassion to accommodate boundary changes.
And Hey is clear that he expects that to shake-up the status quo moreso than in the usual election cycle.
“We’re not in the majority on the council, so our role is mainly to influence. But with the May 2026 elections coming up — when all councillors are up for election — we’re expecting quite a bit of change across the parties. Hopefully, that will give us a stronger voice and maybe even a chance to take decisions directly,” he said.
“We’ll continue campaigning on key issues — opposing the rise in council tax for people on benefits and challenging the 25% increase in bus fares over the past year, which hits those without transport the hardest. We’d like to see other parties join us in tackling these problems before the election.”
That’s it for this edition, thanks for reading.
Don’t forget you can get in touch with me via calderdale@thelead.uk or by leaving a comment on Substack.
I’ll be back on Sunday with another edition but until then, enjoy your week!
Andrew