General Election Campaign
Gina Dowding has been selected as the prospective parlimentary candidate for the Lancaster & Fleetwood constituency for the next general election.
Gina’s News
Fleetwood News
Lancaster News
Over Wyre News
Consituency Details
I have a track record of high energy involvement and commitment to the Green Party. After 20 years of committed campaigning at a local level I became one of the first five Greens elected to Lancaster City Council in 1999, and for the last eight years I have been key to the Greens establishing themselves as a dynamic, respected and successful political force on the City Council. For the last 6 years I had been the Green’s representative on the City Council’s cabinet and have been the Council’s lead on community planning, sustainability, diversity and equality and the children and young people’s champion. All of the above responsibilities have required me to lead, and often chair, key strategic district wide multi-agency partnerships. In addition to this I have been an active and accessible ward member taking up difficult issues on behalf of the community e.g. residents parking, and have been involved in leading local organisations such as the Friendship Centre for older people.
Four years ago I was taken to the Standards board tribunal and found guilty of breaching the Councillors code of conduct for making public ‘confidential’ information with regards to the City Council’s decision to grant rate relief to Heysham nuclear power station. The decision to make the information public was made out of a commitment to transparency and openness, and the ensuing publicity enabled the Greens locally and nationally to challenge current standards with respect to the Code of Conduct and gained much public support.
I live in the centre of Lancaster with my partner and 2 sons having moved here in 1985 after achieving a first class degree in European Business at Nottingham Trent University, which included a year in Germany. My professional work has been mainly for the voluntary sector or NHS in health promotion, in areas such as training, project management and public health policy development. Practical outcomes of my work include: founding Blackpool’s first women’s refuge, running new training for health service professionals, developing organisational-based health promotion projects at Lancaster University and in the two prisons, and working with the WHO European Cities office in promoting this model of working.
My strengths and skills include: leadership in working towards a common vision and goals; ability to engage with people with different backgrounds, agendas, and expectations; communicating clearly in public; aiming for realistic and achievable goals whilst working to an ambitious vision; and good political judgement about when and how to get policy change accepted. I decided not to stand for re-election to the Council in May in order to have a short break to care for, and sort out the care package for my elderly and disabled parents who moved to Lancaster 3 years ago. Things are already improving and I believe I have the time, energy and ambition to make the next general election a success for the people of Lancaster, Fleetwood and Over Wyre..
Gina Dowding.