Corbyn played blinder but why did Labour not negotiate with Greens?

The problem with the Labour Party both nationally and locally is that they refuse to co-operate with other parties in order to enlarge their intellectual and voting base by engaging in progressive alliances. Arrogantly they expect Greens and Lib Dems to forgo the opportunity to get their messages out to the public in deference to the need the Labour Party has to maximise its vote.

When asked to stand down themselves in a few council seats which would not affect their power on the borough council, to allow other progressive parties or candidates the chance to gain seats, they argued that the voters need to be given a choice. This does not seem to have upset too many Ukip voters in this recent election who weren't given the chance to vote for their party in Telford. I'm sure they thought it a positive move not to oppose Brexit supporter Lucy Allan just as our supporters would have preferred not to stand against Kuldip whose Labour Party has recently moved closer to many of the Green Party's policies.

So why on earth did the Labour Party not negotiate with Telford and Wrekin Green Party? It's not as if they weren't given notice of what could happen because, in the 2015 election the Telford and Wrekin Green Party was blamed for Labour losing to Tory Lucy Allan. I think it is inexcusable and shows a total disrespect for the 20,000 voters who thought that their local party would do everything in their powers to make their votes count. It's as if the Labour Party are playing analogue politics in the digital 21st century when up and down the country Labour rejected co-operative deals where candidates holding progressive views could have got in.

In fact Labour could probably have won an overall majority and be in government but because of this blinkered mentality we might have to endure up to five more years of austerity and continuous destruction of our NHS.

Councillor Pat McCarthy

Telford and Wrekin Green Party