The Green Party officially entered the inaugural Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Mayoral Election on Thursday afternoon, as the party’s National co-leader Jonathan Bartley announced Julie Howell as their official candidate to local party members at the Cambridge Union.

Howell, a parish councillor and long-time resident of Peterborough, secured the Green nomination after a ballot of the members of all the local parties in the region. She is a well-respected local party activist, having held the role of coordinator of the Peterborough Green Party alongside working as a confidence coach.

In a speech after the official announcement, Howell – who has suffered from multiple sclerosis for over 25 years – paid tribute to Green Party members for choosing “a candidate with a long-term chronic health condition,” noting she was “fiercely proud to stand for a party who regards [her] as a whole person.”

After explaining that her full manifesto would be published in the next few weeks – with focus placed on the key issues of transport, housing and accountability (including plans to create a local assembly similar to that found in London) – Howell attacked the other contesting parties for fielding candidates that are “male, pale and stale” and lamented the fact that, in her view, women seeking to enter politics find that “competency is not enough.”

These comments followed Saturday’s news that Conservative MP for South Cambridgeshire Heidi Allen MP had failed to progress into the final round in her party’s selection process for the mayoral candidacy, as well as the recent announcements of male candidates by UKIP, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats for the election.

The county councillor for Soham and Fordham villages, James Palmer, is representing the Conservative Party. He is up against Rod Cantrill – Cambridge City councillor for the Newnham Ward – of the Liberal Democrats, UKIP’s Paul Bullen, a County councillor for the St Ives Ward, and independent candidate Peter Dawe. The Labour Party has yet to announce their candidate. The election will take place on the 4th May 2017, with polling stations around the area open from 7 am to 10 pm.

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In a short speech introducing Howell, the Green Party National co-leader, Bartley, was keen to emphasise “how far the Green Party has come” in recent times, which he described as “frightening” and “insecure”. He was also quick to emphasise that Howell would “make a very clear stand for what the Green Party is and what it’s about”, noting that “with Labour, you don’t know what you’re going to get.”

As well as announcing Howell, the local Green Party also introduced the current Dean and Chaplain of Emmanuel College, Revd Jeremy Caddick, as its candidate for the election of a county councillor for the Market ward, a seat in which the Green Party already have a city councillor.

A member of the Faculties of Biology and Divinity, Caddick outlined in a short speech his involvement with the divestment campaign, describing the University of Cambridge as “perfectly placed to send a very strong message” on the issue.

Despite the Green Party having campaigned against the creation of the mayoralty, they are keen to succeed in the election. Howell emphasised that “the Tories are relying on a low turnout” and sought to encourage students who may consider the election as of no relevance to them to think again. 

Indeed, speaking to Varsity after her speech, Howell explained that “just voting is getting into a good habit and understanding what voting is”. She added: “to me, it’s unacceptable to not vote, because I know people that in other countries do not have a chance.”

She also highlighted the student-specific issue of housing as one that, if elected, she would address. “Students don’t know what’s coming,” she explained. “Getting out [of your parents’ house] is so so hard.” On the transition from university, she said: “you live in a bubble as a student but pretty soon you get into the real world and realise how central having a home is to life.”

Howell’s sentiments were echoed by Caddick, who told Varsity that, while “students might think that the county council has not got much to do with them”, they “should vote in both elections because it’s relevant to issues such as education, health and that affects them."

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Caddick further noted that the election gave students the opportunity to influence the participants in the divestment campaign, which is conducted by the University and County Council collectively.

Howell’s campaign launch was not without a moment of tension, as a self-professed “lifelong Green voter” questioned her and Bartley’s attitudes towards Leave voters, which she described as “alienating”.

In response, Bartley was quick to clarify his stance: “We have to walk a very clear line,” he explained, “[to prevent] the scapegoating of migrants while [also] understanding the feelings of Leave voters.” He added: “I’ll never call a Leave voter a racist – some of the members of my family voted Leave – but I will call Nigel Farage a racist because he stood in front of that poster”