Thank you!

A message from Jean to everyone who supported her on Election Day follows below. Don't forget, you can follow everything that she is doing in the European Parliament over the next five years at her 1.official site.

"I would like to say a warm thank you to everybody in London who voted Green in the European elections on 5th June and especially to those who helped achieve such a great result. With over 192,000 votes, one third more than last time, I was re-elected to represent Londoners in the European Parliament for the next five-year term and I am thrilled to have received this vote of confidence from London's citizens.

"The Green Party made the biggest gains of any of the established parties in London, as our share of the vote went up to 11 per cent, meaning one in nine voters chose Green. Across Europe more Green MEPs were elected, notably in France where we gained a further 10 members.

"I am proud that given the current political and economic climate, so many people voted for a progressive Party. There is still much work to be done to ensure higher turn-out at future elections and I will continue to call for electoral reform and support campaigns that encourage citizen engagement in politics.

"I am now looking forward to continuing to work on behalf of Londoners - tackling climate change, working to create new jobs and standing up for equality and human rights.

"The Greens will be at the heart of negotiations ahead of the crucial UN climate change conference in Copenhagen in December this year and in London I'm going to continue to support the campaign for a Living Wage for all, and to ensure that new air quality standards - vital for protecting health - come into effect. I'll also be championing new equalities legislation, which is even more important now given the rise of far-right parties elsewhere in the UK and across Europe.

"I am very proud to have been chosen to represent the residents of this diverse, creative and visionary city again."

We Did It!

After many months of hard campaigning, millions of leaflets, thousands of doors knocked on, hundreds of public meetings, scores of stalls and much more - Jean Lambert was re-elected to the European Parliament!

Nationally, the Green Party secured 1.3 million votes, and was the Party with the biggest increase in the share of the vote (+2.4% of the national share). In London, we got 190,589 votes, which equates to 10.9% of all London votes cast - and it's down to everyone who campaigned for Jean, in however big or small a way. Thank you to everyone.

Of course, in other regions (apart from the South East, where Caroline Lucas was also re-elected) Greens were just pipped to the post...and we all know that the fascist BNP also returned two MEPs. For that reason, Jean will be working harder than ever to lay out a clearly progressive, radical and bold vision for a tolerant future in the UK. We hope you will follow her progress over the next five years!

FULL RESULTS

Conservative 479,037 27.4% (+0.6)

Labour 372,590 21.3% (-3.5%)

Liberal Democrats 240,156 13.7% (-1.6%)

Green Party 190,589 10.9% (+2.5%)

UK Independence Party 188,440 10.8% (-1.6%)

British National Party 86,420 4.9% (+0.9%)

Christian Party-Christian Peoples Alliance 51,336 2.9% (+2.9%)

Independent - Jan Jananayagam 50,014 2.9% (+2.9%)

English Democrat 24,477 1.4% (+0.6%)

No2EU 17,758 1.0% (+1.0%)

Socialist Labour Party 15,306 0.9% (+0.9%)

Libertas 8,444 0.5% (+0.5%)

Jury Team 7,284 0.4% (+0.4%)

Independent - Steven Cheung 4,918 0.3% (+0.3%)

Socialist Party of Great Britain 4,050 0.2% (+0.2%)

Yes 2 Europe 3,384 0.2% (+0.2%)

Independent - Sohale Rahman 3,248 0.2% (+0.2%)

Independent - Gene Alcantara 1,972 0.1% (+0.1%)

Independent - Haroon Saad 1,603 0.1% (+0.1%)

Video footage of the bus tour

Footage from the recent biodiesel bus tour of London....

Jean endorsed by LGBT activists

Regular readers may remember a previous post about the work that Jean has been doing to highlight and stand up against homophobia in Eastern Europe. It is that work, as part of an extensive record of work on LGBT issues in the European Parliament, that has earned the endorsement of UK Gay News in the last few days.

For more details on Jean's record on LGBT issues, you could click the links above - or read on below....who better than Peter Tatchell to explain?

"I am backing Jean Lambert and the Green list in the European elections. They have the best policies on LGBT issues and Jean has a proven record of effective, inspiring campaigning in the European Parliament" said LGBT human rights campaigner and Green Party human rights spokesperson, Peter Tatchell.

"Green Party MEPs are committed to promoting LGBT equality across Europe and to defeating homophobic and transphobic discrimination within the UK. Jean is a member of the LGBT Intergroup in the European Parliament. She led calls for new Europe-wide anti-discrimination legislation, to protect EU citizens against discrimination on grounds of age, sexual orientation, disability and faith or belief. Currently the EU laws on gender and race are stronger than those on other grounds. The Greens believe that all types of discrimination should be covered equally."

"Together with her fellow UK Green MEP, Caroline Lucas, Jean has publicly condemned the homophobic attacks on LGBT Pride marches in Latvia, Poland and Russia. She also advocates the recognition of same-sex marriage throughout the EU.

"Jean campaigned to secure the recognition of UK civil partnerships in France. She has been outspoken in defending LGBT refugees fleeing persecution in homophobic countries like Iran, Jamaica, Iraq and Uganda.

"She was also instrumental in persuading the European Commission to add a new clause to the financial agreement for structural funds, which resulted in EU funding being withheld from a journalism school linked to the anti-Semitic and homophobic Radio Maryja in Poland".

Jean's the best on animal rights

Many of the issues highlighted in this blog have been in the area of social justice, employment rights and so on - precisely because many people do not know that our Green MEPs work so hard on these areas in the European Parliament. Their excellent work on social justice issues, however, does not mean that they neglect more traditionally 'green' areas of concern - as this analysis by Protecting Animals in Democracy shows quite clearly.

As highlighted by the London Green Party, Jean scores joint top in PAD's analysis of a recent series of crucial votes on animal protection, along with the Leader of the Green Party, Caroline Lucas MEP, and a Plaid Cymru MEP (also a member of the Greens/EFA grouping in the Parliament).

Lots more about Jean's work on animal protection issues here, or just watch her explain in her own words, below:

A Tearful End To The Bus Tour

From Manor House, we turned on the bus microphone, and began announcements -- "this bus is run on cooking oil" ... "re-elect Jean Lambert as London MEP" ... "if you are disillusioned by the main three parties, there is a clean and green alternative, vote for Jean Lambert on the 4th of June" -- up through Green Lanes, Turnpike Lane, Muswell Hill, and then to Crouch End.

At Crouch End Broadway, we made our final stop, at a stall run by the Haringey Green Party. Expect great things from the Haringey team in the 2010 local elections. Their council, on paper, is pregnant with Green possibility.

Following her Channel 4 interview, Jean rejoined the bus for its final event. We engaged with late afternoon passersby, and posed for photos for the local paper in Haringey.

We then offloaded our leaflets, t-shirts, laptops, tasty homemade cakes, cameras and video equipment, and thanked Joe, our driver, profusely. He set off for the motorway north to Crewe, as the North West campaign has the bus for the next few days.

Over the two day tour, we had eight nationalities helping on the bus (from Irish to Spanish to Canadian to Polish). Our wonderful photographer was Lorenzo Tugnoli. And the bus tour couldn't have come together without Remco van der Stoep, who co-ordinated all the logistics.

We hope the North West enjoys the bus as much as we did.

The Bus Team

Navigating

Photos - Hackney Bike Escort

Hackney Bike Escort

The bus made quite a sight ... slowly passing over Tower Bridge into Aldgate. At Whitechapel, we picked up Chris, a filmmaker who lives in Tower Hamlets, and we dropped Jean off!

Jean needed to go off to Channel 4 News, who wanted to interview her about a new poll in the Times that showed the Greens leading UKIP.

With Ute Michel, our #2 candidate, we proceeded up into Hackney, and met up with twenty cyclists from the Hackney Green Party. With the cyclists leading us as an honour guard, we slowly drove past Hackney Town Hall, through Lower and Upper Clapton, before cutting across to Stoke Newington High Street.

We received lots of friendly waves as we passed patios and pubs on Stoke Newington Church Street. The cyclists then led us down to Newington Green.

Coming northward again, we said our goodbyes to our cycling breathern at Clissold Park, before heading up towards Green Lanes.

Saturday in New Cross

After leaving Brixton, we travelled through the streets of East Dulwich and Peckham, notably passing Peckham Library, to arrive in New Cross.

There, just beside Goldsmiths, Jean was met by volunteers and ward councillors with the Lewisham Green Party. Lewisham is one of our target constituencies for the next general election (along with Norwich South and Brighton Pavilion).

At a street stall, we handed out leaflets to passersby. We were even serenaded with a song by one of them, about pollution!

Ute Michel, #2 on the Green Party's list of candidates for London, joined the bus at this point, as we departed for Tower Bridge and beyond (Whitechapel, Hackney and Haringey).

Jean In Lambeth

Leafleting in Lambeth - In Front of Ritzy Cinema

Peter Tatchell and Jean At Uptown Oil

Uptown Oil / Brixton

10am -- After gathering at Jubilee Gardens, next to the London Eye, we took the bus to Southwark, for a fascinating meeting at Uptown Oil. Uptown oil was the company supplying the recycled biodiesel, made from used chip oil, that powered the bus.

We were given a quick tour of the processing plant. Uptown Oil supplies many local restaurants with cooking oil, and then collects it from them after use, to be recycled into fuel. This is used by many London taxis.

This is an inspirational business!

Peter Tatchell, one of the most determined human rights campaigners, caught up with us in Southwark, to give his backing to Jean's re-election campaign. Peter had just returned from the Moscow Gay Pride events, where he was supporting LGBT campaigners who were fighting persecution and homophobia.

He spoke to Jean about her work in the European Parliament -- to improve legislation, to enshrine in law equal rights for all, and also to ensure that all EU countries implement those laws in practice.

Peter came with us to Elephant and Castle. After dropping him off, we continued on to Clapham and Brixton.

1130am - We received a lively reception in Brixton from Joseph Healy, the #4 candidate on the European elections list, and several other candidates from Lambeth Green Party.

Despite roadworks in front of the Ritzy Cinema being against us -- congratulations to Joe, our driver, for navigating the busy streets -- we engaged with many residents on the street who told us they would be voting Green.

We then departed to New Cross -- playing our party election broadcast to the people of Lambeth. As it says: if you believe that fairness, integrity and the environment belong at the heart of politics, then you think exactly like us.

One World, One Chance

Cyclists and The Bus

South Bank / Critical Mass at Waterloo Bridge

From Westminster, we passed the over the river several times before making our final stop on the South Bank, next to the BFI.

It's a beautiful Friday afternoon. Cyclists are slowly gathering for the critical mass event, and hundreds of people are lying on the lawns by the river.

We're broadcasting our message to an interested audience -- that there is an alternative to the three main parties: vote Green for a better future, for peace, human riughts and the environment.

There's a carnival atmosphere as we unleash our upbeat, soulful music through the speakers. We become surrounded by the hundreds of bikes setting off for their evening ride around the city to reclaim the streets for cyclists and pedestrians.

It's a great end to an exhilarating day aboard Jean's battle bio-bus.

Next stop: Uptown Oil tomorrow morning at 10am. We're going to stock up on recycled biodiesel, made from used cooking oil. This bus might look red, but it is, without doubt, Green!

Stall In Westminster

We parked up in Westminster for a while and leafletted the crowds. The paper windmills whizzing round on the stall were testament to the ambundant, untapped, clean, renewable energy we have in the UK.

Jean Traveling Through London