Green Party Candidate Cambridgeshire County Council By-Election 2026 Roman Bank & Peckover
"Candidate tells people not to vote for him and resigns from the party"
In a strange twist of events, a Green Party candidate standing recently for a Cambridgeshire County Council by-election (Roman Bank & Peckover) decided that they wanted to withdraw from the poll. Unfortunately it was too late, the deadline had passed, he was on the ballot regardless.
All political parties stand, what they call, (and I hate the term) 'Paper Candidates'. In other word 'candidates on paper only'. While it is unlikely that they will win the election. They stand in order to help build the party vote-share and to give their supporters someone to vote for. All parties do it, and if they didn't, there would be no democracy. Saying that, the Green Party has an annoying habit of getting so called 'Paper Candidates' elected so I prefer the term 'Non-Target'.
Standing as a 'Non-Target' candidate is fairly simple. They stand, they lose, they congratulate the winner, and it's all over. There is nothing more to it than that.
However in this case, what was clearly a 'Paper Candidate', wanted to withdraw from the election. Since he couldn't withdraw, he made an announcement telling every one not to vote for him.
I find this behaviour utterly bizarre. It shows disregard for the electorate, the political party, those involved in his nomination, and it may have even affected the final outcome of the poll.
He claims that he has now resigned from the Green Party.
