The following letter was submitted for publication in this week’s Camden New Journal to correct some scurrilous gossip. All’s fair in politics we guess...

Your “news” (Peeps, March 10)  that One Vote For The Planet independent council candidates (onevotefortheplanet.uk) are planning to contest Highgate ward in the May 5 council elections is certainly news to us. Being independent, all candidates will choose in which ward to put themselves forward for election. So far, Highgate has not been chosen by any of the group’s candidates.

The suggestion that One Vote For The Planet is out to upset the Green applecart is also wide of the mark. The group exists to hold to account those in power, whatever their political stripe. Our mission is to make sure that green policy promises, made during the election campaign, are kept and implemented after the election. The group is entirely non-partisan and will work with anyone who prioritises our climate and our environment.

In any case, the clue is in the name. The ballot form allows you to have three votes; give just one of those to the planet and you still have two votes left to award to a political party such as Conservative, Green, Labour or LibDem. A positive result will ensure a broader representation of interests in the council chamber, rather than the unhelpful “one-party state” that currently exists at many of our local councils, Camden being one.

So, it would actually benefit the Greens to promote our success and not, as you suggest, to worry about our presence.

It’s a new way of doing politics, one that has been needed for a very long time.

Yours sincerely

Mike Sumner