A Hazlemere councillor standing in the Makerfield by-election has admitted he does not expect to win and described himself as “effectively a paper candidate”.

Ed Gemmell, leader of the Climate Party and an independent Buckinghamshire councillor for Hazlemere, said he entered the race to push climate change back “on the agenda”.

Mr Gemmell told the LDRS his candidacy would not take time away from representing residents in Hazlemere because he does not expect to campaign heavily in the constituency.

He said: “We’ve got to get climate onto the agenda. We’ve just smashed temperature records for May two days in a row and we can’t afford to let people keep ignoring it.”

Ed Gemmell is set to stand in the Makerfield by-election despite being based in Bucks

placeholder image — Ed Gemmell is set to stand in the Makerfield by-election despite being based in Bucks

Makerfield is a parliamentary constituency in Greater Manchester, around 190 miles from Hazlemere and roughly three-and-a-half to four hours away by car.

Mr Gemmell said the Climate Party was standing in the contest despite having little expectation of winning the seat. He said: “Let’s be realistic, we’re not going to win. I’m effectively a paper candidate, but with a very clear objective for doing it.”

The councillor said he wanted to use the by-election campaign to highlight what he described as the economic opportunities of reaching net zero faster.

He said: “We have a declining economy in the UK and we’ve got to get on the agenda the opportunity for massively boosting our economy by innovating and investing our way to net zero quicker than we are doing now.”

Mr Gemmell also criticised other political parties, claiming climate change had been pushed down the political agenda. Addressing concerns over balancing the campaign with his council duties, Mr Gemmell insisted his responsibilities to residents in Hazlemere would not be affected.

He said: “Nothing’s changed. It’s simply that we needed to be on the ballot to raise this issue. We didn’t have a local candidate. So as the leader of the party, if we don’t have a local candidate, then it fell to me to go on the ballot.

“But realistically, I am not going to be there campaigning. I may go up for a small amount of campaigning, but it’s not possible to do it on an ongoing basis.”

Despite not expecting to win, Mr Gemmell said everyone he spoke to while collecting signatures for his nomination form was worried about climate change.

The by-election will be held on June 18 following the resignation of Labour MP Josh Simons. Simons stepped down amid the ongoing Labour leadership contest, allowing Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to seek a return to Parliament ahead of a potential leadership bid.

List of all candidates:

Jake Austin – Liberal Democrats

Count Binface – Count Binface Party

Andy Burnham – Labour and Co-operative Party

Dan Clarke – Libertarian Party

John Dyer – Independent

Ed Gemmell – Climate Party

Paul Gould – Independent

Howling Laud Hope – The Official Monster Raving Loony Party

Rob Kenyon – Reform UK

Robert Pownall – Independent

Rebecca Shepherd – Restore Britain