Gina Dowding is standing for the Green Party in the Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency in the next general election.
Gina has a wealth of experience as a Green politician and a community campaigner in the district.
- She is an energetic Lancashire County Councillor, holding the seat for Lancaster Central since 2013. At County, Gina sits on the Environment, Economic Growth and Transport Scrutiny Committee, having previously worked on issues around Responsible Investment on the Pensions committee for 10 years. As an ‘opposition councillor’ Gina chaired a newly-formed Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee, following a failed OFSTED inspection Lancashire County Council 2016/17.
- She was elected Lancaster City Councillor for Marsh ward in May 2019, and is Cabinet Member for Climate Action on the cross-party administration.
Gina was the first Green Party representative to be elected as a Member of the European Parliament for the North West from July 2019 – January 2020.
Gina has been a Green Party member since 1986 and has previously carried out several roles for and within the Green Party, including:
- Lancaster City Councillor, for Castle/ Dukes ward: 1999-2007, including being a Cabinet Member for seven years.
- North Lancashire Green Party Co-ordinator/External Communication Co-ordinator
- Green Party of England and Wales Health Spokesperson
- Fylde General Election 2019 Parliamentary Candidate
- Lancaster and Fleetwood General Election 2010 Parliamentary Candidate.
- Represented the Green Party of England and Wales at Congress of the Global Greens (Dacca, Senegal 2011) and European Green Party Council (Zagreb, Croatia 2015).
Council work priorities
Carbon reduction urgently- renewable energy and energy efficiency in homes; Transport revolution for safe cycling and walking provision; Wealth redistributing policies to end poverty; local business and tech-sector support. Absolutely Anti-fracking.
Extra-curricular political experiences
As city councillor in 2002-3 Gina made ‘confidential’ information regarding the finances of British Energy nuclear industry and its appeals for delay in paying business rates, available to the public. She was found in a local government standards tribunal to be in breach of recently-introduced regulations and suspended for 3 months from the city council (and during the time waiting for the tribunal, was re-elected with a greater majority).
Gina regularly attended the protests at Preston New Road fracking site and took part in a ‘rolling resistance’ direct action July 2017. She was fined after self-defence in court for ‘wilful obstruction for the highway’.
On her current elected roles, Gina says:
“I am delighted to be part of the group of 21 Green Councillors in Lancaster, and our alliance arrangements with Labour and the Lib Dems. At County we now have two Green Councillors but are aiming to increase this to at least 7 in May 2025.”
On her approach to politics Gina says:
‘Politics is the art of the possible’. Fortunately the groundswell of public support for meaningful action on the climate, nature recovery, reducing inequalities and empowering communities means that I have a mandate as a councillor to push for radical changes in our institutions and in the economic system, in order to protect our planet to sustain life.
I want to ensure that a number of Green MPs are elected in 2024 – while pushing for an end to our archaic undemocratic first-past-the-post voting system.”
Voluntary roles
- Director North Lancashire Community Land Trust. Current
- Chair of the Friendship Centre for Older People (2006-8)
Employment/Education
- Managing Director, Churches Trust for Cumbria 2009-2011
- Health Promotion/Public Health NHS adviser/District HIV co-ordinator/Health Promoting University Project coordinator (Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde Health Authority/ Morecambe Bay NHS Trust) 1988-2001
- Drug and Alcohol health adviser (charity sector, Lancaster) 1986-88
- Studied at Nottingham Trent University (1981-85) 1st class BA (Hons) in European Business Studies, including a year in Paderborn, Germany.
- Educated at St Martin’s-in-the-Fields High School, London (1972-1980); A-Levels in Chemistry, Maths and Further Maths.