Green candidates for Parliament in the 2024 election
Brentwood & Chelmsford Green Party stands candidates for two Parliamentary constituencies in Westminster elections – and did so for the General Election on July 4.
We selected our two candidates – RJ Learmouth and Reza Hossain following local party ballots.
RJ Learmouth was chosen to represent the Brentwood and Ongar constituency, while Reza Hossain stood for the Greens in the Chelmsford constituency.
Read more about them below.
Reza Hossain – Chelmsford
Reza has lived in Chelmsford for the past 20 years. He did his training to become a GP in Chelmsford. He now works in the community as a local GP at Little Waltham Surgery, and as a community dermatologist in Mid-Essex. He has a real passion for helping people and caring for the local environment too.
“I was previously the ship medic on board the Greenpeace ice-breaking ship, Arctic Sunrise, on a project in the South Atlantic. I was also the rainforest camp doctor for a Greenpeace project that was located in the Paradise Rainforests of South East Asia. This project helped the local forest communities to develop in a way which maintained the beauty and biodiversity of the forests.
“My experiences abroad have given me a sharp, first-hand insight into the fragile nature of the planet. I think that as humans, and as a society, we should be concerned about the serious issues of climate change, the Sixth Mass Extinction Event of life on earth that has started (as also stated by the UN) and human population growth.
“If we look at present levels of consumption in richer countries, we are over-using the renewable resources of the earth – according to the United Nations. We know that 90 per cent of the world’s wealth and resources is being used by the richest 20 per cent of people on the earth.
“I want to be involved in politics because I hope that we can try to live a modern lifestyle, while maintaining a clean and healthy environment.”
RJ Learmouth – Brentwood & Ongar
RJ grew up in South Essex and works in Brentwood. As a local Healthcare Professional with over a decade of frontline service, they know how vital our public services like the NHS are. They have seen first hand the impact of years of underfunding these critical services have taken; a decline that has accelerated since the pandemic.
RJ is a proactive member of the Green Party, contributing to the Party’s Policy Development Groups on topics including Drug Reform, LGBTIQA+ rights, and Immigration and Asylum. RJ is an active volunteer in the Green Party’s campaigning across South Essex, including taking a key role in the local election wins for the Greens in Southend-on-Sea.
In their own time, RJ supports Essex’s vibrant grassroots music scene; a lifelong love of music, literature, and art which began at Brentwood’s Hermit Youth Club, a sorely missed local facility for our young people.
“I’m looking forward to offering voters in Brentwood and Ongar a credible alternative to the old parties. People don’t feel better off after the last 14 years of Conservative mismanagement and they’re looking for change. Our civic infrastructure is crumbling, vital local services are at breaking point, and our natural environment is facing an existential threat.
“The fact that so many of our frontline NHS workers are forced to use foodbanks to support their families should be a national shame. Everyone is shouldering the burden of the political choices made at Westminster, and it’s about time those decisions took account of ordinary families’ needs. For me, this is simply a question of fairness.”
Candidates in neighbouring constituencies
Because the area covered by Brentwood and Chelmsford Green Party fits to the local government boundaries of Brentwood Borough Council and Chelmsford City Council, B&CGP also covers part of two other Westminster Parliamentary constituencies – NW Essex, and Maldon.
In March, Maldon District Green Party announced that Isobel Doubleday would be standing for the Green Party in the general election in Maldon.
Uttlesford Green Party, based in Saffron Walden, selected Edward Gildea as the Green Party Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the North West Essex constituency.
Living in the following Chelmsford council wards, you were be able to cast your vote for Edward Gildea in NW Essex: Boreham and the Leighs; Broomfield and the Walthams; Chelmsford Rural West; Writtle.
Living in these Chelmsford council wards, you were able to cast your vote for Isobel Doubleday in Maldon: Galleywood; Bicknacre and East and West Hanningfield; Little Baddow, Danbury and Sandon; Rettendon and Runwell; South Hanningfield, Stock and Margaretting; South Woodham Chetwood and Collingwood; and South Woodham Elmwood and Woodville.
