AS the Green Party candidate for Thirsk and Malton constituency, I believe that the Greens can win this election.

Now you may think I’ve been taking some mind-altering substance, but I have good reasons to make this prediction. Before you dismiss me as a crank, consider: The British political system is undergoing its biggest upheaval in a very long time.

The two party stranglehold has been seriously damaged firstly by coalition Government, then by the Scottish Referendum, followed by the total disillusionment being picked up by pollsters and by the popularity of Russell Brand (8.9 million Twitter followers) and finally by UKIP, who have won two recent by-elections.

Meanwhile, the Green Party nationally has more than doubled its membership in only the last few months and many polls are showing Green support running at or near 10 per cent. The online poll Vote for Policies not Personalities, which measures votes on policies alone and not on parties, shows Greens on 26.98 per cent nationally and on 27.75 per cent in Thirsk and Malton, way ahead of all other parties.

A recent poll conducted on behalf of The Times showed that about 26 per cent of people would vote Green if they believed Greens could win.

This time around I predict that 25 per cent to 27 per cent of the vote could win this seat, in what looks like a five-way split.

Through being largely ignored by the mainstream media most people are unaware of the policies of the Green Party, either locally or nationally, so my job over the next few weeks is to bring to people the Green agenda and to let voters decide and see for themselves what a peaceful Green revolution will be like and what real and sustainable prosperity could mean for our communities in Ryedale.

Chris Newsam, Green Parliamentary Candidate, West Heslerton