Green Party announce Matthew Spoors as candidate for Nottinghamshire County Council’s Newark West by-election

The Green Party has announced it will be contesting a county by-election as “the only credible alternative” to the main political parties.

Matthew Spoors, who previously ran for election to Nottinghamshire County Council in Newark East, has now been selected as the candidate for the upcoming by-election in Newark West.

The by-election was triggered following the resignation of newly-elected Reform councillor Desmond Clarke, less than a week after the local elections, held on May 1.

The Greens have now also called on Reform to pay the costs of the Newark West by-election, describing it as effectively wasting tax-payers money.

Mr Spoors is a sitting councillor on both Newark and Sherwood District Council and Newark Town Council, covering a large part of the Newark West division.

He argued that this gave him a great deal of experience and understanding of what residents required.

“I’m quite excited at the opportunity to stand again for the good people of Newark, and to give them the only credible alternative to the main parties of government,” he said.

“Particularly in an area like Newark West, where there are quite a few issues in terms of deprivation, and needs to have the attention of councillors quite often.

“The division also has some of the worst roads in the area that still haven’t been fixed, issues with anti-social behaviour, and needs someone to lobby for them at all levels of local government.

“So, it is important to really know the patch and be available for people on the ground, to give them confidence that you know what you are talking about.”

Mr Spoors said that he was “not surprised” to see new councillors step down as “nobody really knows what the job entails until you get in”.

He added that it was only natural that Reform candidates were “less well prepared for the journey into politics” compared to the other parties, due to Reform’s rapid rise, and anticipated that there would be further resignations over the coming year.

This has led the regional Green Party to now call on Reform to pay the costs of the Newark West by-election, and that “it is taxpayer money that they have effectively wasted.”

He also pointed to the success of the Greens elsewhere in local government, with 859 seats on 181 councils across the country, and said this support provided “momentum and movement”.

“It’s really, really important that we have a Green voice on every council, to provide that voice for the environment and sensible economics,” he said.

“The more we can get at the local level, the more we have a chance to build from the ground up, to national level.”

Matthew Spoors is now the third person to announce his candidacy in Newark West, joining Keith Girling for the Local Conservatives, and Paul Taylor for the Labour Party.

The date of the by-election has not yet been decided.