Deaf News: Ben Fletcher stands for Green Party in Putney

Following a hustings meeting in Balham, Wandsworth Green Party has announced that Ben Fletcher will stand as a candidate  for the party in the general election in Putney, South West London, campaigning in BSL.

The BDA’s David Buxton, who was the UK’s first deaf Parliamentary candidate 20 years ago, responded to his selection saying on Twitter:

My friend @bjfletcher was selected as @TheGreenParty candidate Putney. First ever #deafblind PPC in British political history! All the best

— David Buxton (@DavidBuxtondc) April 28, 2017

The Green Party says that along with their other candidates, Ben will campaign “against a hard Brexit, for action to tackle climate change, for decent homes, for a public NHS, for free, quality education, for a fair economy and for better transport.”

Ben released this video via his Twitter account:

Proud to stand as @TheGreenParty candidate for #Putney. If elected, I will fight for cleaner air in #Wandsworth. #GE2017 #VoteGreen2017 pic.twitter.com/St6Kb9pxnv

— Ben J Fletcher (@bjfletcher) April 30, 2017

The Green Party candidates will also be campaigning for the introduction of a fair voting system and calls on candidates from the progressive parties in Wandsworth to make a commitment to a new way of politics.

Ben is photographed below with two other candidates in the Wandsworth area, Lois Davis (candidate for Battersea) and Esther Obiri-Darko (the candidate for Tooting):

“As a Putney resident I am well aware of, and very concerned about, the impact toxic air has on our health and quality of life,” said Ben Fletcher. “I will campaign for strong and rigorous action to tackle air pollution and ensure the government step up to their responsibilities to protect public health.”

Ben, who is 36, currently works for the Financial Times as a Lead Developer and Line Manager for the FT.com website, where he is responsible for three teams of web developers.

He graduated from the University of York in 2004 with a 1st class degree in Computer Science and was then headhunted by IBM, where he became a Master Inventor with over 20 patents to his name. He later set up his own tech consultancy company, then joined a startup before moving to the FT in 2015.

A Buddhist and a vegan, Ben is also well-known around the UK for his meditation teaching, his political activism (he starred in the Stronger In campaign’s video as its only BSL user!) and the film “Language for Ben” (1986), based on the book of the same name written by his mother Lorraine Fletcher who campaigned for him to have access to education in BSL.

Ben lives with his partner Lauren in Southfields and will be standing against the current MP Justine Greening (Conservative), who is Education Secretary.

All of us at the Limping Chicken offer Ben our wholehearted support and we hope to bring you an interview with him soon.