Voting Green: my ten reasons

1. Voting in another Labour, Lib Dem or Conservative person means supporting the status quo, politics as usual, big party domination or sometimes one party monopoly. Greens improve fairness, democracy and accountability, challenging the political status quo.



2. Fresh, innovative thinking and action is being initiated all over the country and further afield by hundreds of Greens elected as Members of the Westminster and European Parliaments, Members of the Scottish Parliament, London Assembly Members, and Councillors such as the large groups in Brighton and Norwich.



3. Greens are widely recognised for environmental leadership. Economic and social systems exist within the environment and are dependent upon it and Greens – being joined up thinkers – address all issues AND how they interrelate. This is essential if we are to solve problems, take opportunities, build equality and secure our wellbeing.



4. Greens work for strong local economies, keeping wealth circulating within communities, creating secure and stable jobs locally. This promotes wellbeing, fairness, self-reliance and sustainability, through greater local production, improved energy and food security. Greens believe small is beautiful and actively support small, locally owned businesses, local exchange and trading schemes and credit unions.



5. Local services and facilities of all kinds - health facilities, old folks homes, schools, libraries, swimming pools, buses and trains, pubs, corner shops, the local high street...should be maintained and enhanced not threatened and cut.



6. Green commitment to road traffic reduction is high. Traffic congestion causes multiple problems, especially in cities like Bristol – and yet the big parties have neglected to give transport the attention and investment it has long needed. Greens will enable people to access local jobs and facilities close to where they live and promote walking and cycling. They will invest in convenient, affordable, accessible and expanded public transport.



7. Greens believe health, wellbeing and equality should be the measure of progress in society. Public health issues are thus a high priority for Greens and above all favour the prevention of ill-health and the promotion of good health.



8. On environmental issues Greens are several decades ahead. They continue to lead the way: illustrating the interdependence of our economy and society with the environment.



9. Greens work to maximise efficiency, whether energy, water, transport use or other resources. It’s why they would insulate all homes free of charge - warming your homes, saving you money, efficiently and rapidly cutting fuel use and carbon emissions, creating thousands of local jobs.



10. The Green plan for rebuilding the economy - the Green New Deal – is a £45 billion investment to create 1 million jobs. It will begin to build a fair, sustainable economy and society by redesigning the financial system so that it serves the ‘real' economy and local communities.

Green Councillors want to...

Protect Public Services. Regulating banks and tax avoiders must come before cuts that will damage the lives of everyone.

Create more green jobs in Bristol. The Green New Deal creates jobs, and brings fuel and food security. Bristol, with its high tech expertise, can deliver.

Promote the Local Economy. Encourage local trading networks, making the city more self-reliant. Global mass-retailers are bad news for the local economy.

Support public transport, cycling and walking Public transport needs to be cheap, regular, direct and easy to use. Priorities: a Temple Meads hub, smart cards, real time information, plus a safe network of pedestrian and cycle routes, and a general 20mph speed limit.

Protect our Green spaces. Selling them would be unsustainable, regressive, unprofitable ( and generally stupid! )

Provide Homes: We can increase housing stock by redeveloping our 7000 unused buildings and houses in Bristol, and using brown field sites. But we need mechanisms to give local people priority.

A good local state school for every child. Young people should expect a high standard of education close to home and right for their talents. Academies and PFI rarely provide that.

Health. All our policies encourage good physical and mental health. But when things go wrong, we want accessible health centres providing a range of services. We want to work with a stronger (not a privatised) NHS, to support less able people and their carers in the community. We'll oppose any non-essential mass-medication (eg fluoridation of water).

Promote reuse and recycling of resources: Bristol needs alternatives to the 'throwaway' economy, promoting repair and reuse together with locally based plans for reducing waste, litter, and flytipping.

Save energy. We support insulation and energy saving as the best ways to reduce our CO2 output. Nuclear is not an option. Solar, tidal and wind are.

We need a progressive voice in Bristol politics. Just one more Green councillor will give us the influence of a party group on the council. Green councillors will work hard for what matters: a sustainable economy, decent public services and a good quality of life for all. And if you don't like us, our 'recall' system lets you get rid of us!

What would I be like as a councillor for Knowle?

**A councillor for Knowle, brought up and living in Knowle, ready and available to respond to local issues

A councillor who will challenge corrupt politics as usual institutions, decision making processes and politicians

A councillor who will fight for: respect for our environment; stronger local communities; meeting needs now and in the future; local and global fairness; efficiency; renewability; health, wellbeing and quality of life

A councillor who is independent minded and doesn't have to vote the way party whips tell him

A councillor who's prepared to stand down if that's what the electorate wants

A councillor who can look beyond ward and city boundaries - thinking globally and acting locally

A councillor who'll champion vulnerable minorities and work for a fairer, more equal city

A councillor who'll help enable Bristol's transition into a low-carbon, low waste, sustainable city

A councillor who'll do all he can to protect our common assets.

**click image to enlarge and see details of all the candidates standing in Knowle in 2011.

Why vote Green? Part Nine

Greens work to maximise efficiency, whether energy, water, transport use or other resources. Its why we would insulate all homes free of charge (warming your homes, saving you money, efficiently and rapidly cutting fuel use and carbon emissions, creating thousands of local jobs). Its why we drew up the Home Energy Conservation Act. Its why we want more effective and wide-ranging door-to-door recycling systems. Its why we would cut excessive mileage allowances paid by some councils and Govt departments. Reducing waste makes sense at all sorts of levels: giving value for money; making effective use of resources; reducing pressures on communities and on the environment. Given the results of this online survey http://voteforpolicies.org.uk/, which over a quarter of a million people have completed, the chances are that you agree that the Greens policies are best - we are in first place with over 24% of the vote (click to enlarge image top left for details).

Why vote Green? Part Eight...

On environmental issues Greens are several decades ahead (see picture and report from 1989 for instance; click to enlarge). We continue to lead the way: illustrating the interdependence of our economy and society with the environment; protecting green spaces from inappropriate housing, road and other developments; prioritising refurbishment of empty properties; pushing for affordable housing on brownfield sites to meet local needs; working for car-free and energy-efficient developments; putting public transport and the needs of pedestrians and cyclists before motorists; protecting woodlands and open, natural and green spaces; obtaining funding to restore derelict land; working for high air, water and land quality.

We are widely recognised for our environmental leadership. Greens are particularly keen to stress policies on the economy, health, education, transport, defence and so on in addition to and in combination with environmental ones. Our economic and social systems exist within the environment and are dependent upon it and Greens – being joined up thinkers – address all issues AND how they interrelate. This is essential if we are to solve problems, take opportunities and secure our wellbeing.

Why vote Green? Part Seven

We believe health and wellbeing should be the measure of progress in society. Public health issues are thus a high priority for Greens and above all we favour the prevention of ill-health and the promotion of good health. We would: abolish prescription charges; re-introduce free eye tests; ensure NHS chiropody is widely available; fight to restore free dental care; provide everyone with the choice of an NHS dentist.

A poor quality environment produces ill-health, so Greens lead on campaigning against all pollution and for high air, water, land and food quality. We very strongly favour sex education, health education and economic incentives to cut the abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Greens were prominent in opposing genetically modified food, including keeping them out of school dinners. We oppose the fluoridation of our water supplies, an issue that has reared its head last year in Bristol, because it does not work, is not safe, is unethical and is not wanted.

More information:

http://www.greenparty.org.uk/policies/nhs_2010.html

http://www.greenparty.org.uk/policies/nhs_2010/nhs_detail.html

Why vote Green? Part Six...

Our commitment to road traffic reduction is high. Traffic congestion causes multiple problems, especially in cities like Bristol – and yet the big parties have neglected to give transport the attention and investment it has long needed.

Greens will plan to enable people to access local jobs and facilities close to where they live and promote walking and cycling. We want an integrated, sustainable transport authority serving Greater Bristol (as 6 of the 7 most economically powerful cities in England outside of London have*), convenient, speedy ticketing that can be used on both buses, trains and ferries, real-time information as the norm throughout the system and a transport hub where it makes good sense – right next to Temple Meads railway station on ‘Plot 6’ (pictured).

We will invest in convenient, affordable, accessible and expanded public transport, diverting money away from major road building and subsidies for expanded air travel: doubling the size of the bus fleet, investing £3 billion to buy 30,000 new buses, creating 70,000 jobs; subsidising bus fares and getting new services operational with £2 billion; bringing the railways back into public ownership, spending £2 billion on new track and rolling stock and urban tram schemes, creating 20,000 jobs; through a £3 billion subsidy reducing UK rail fares by one third, bringing them in line with the European average. At EU level Green MEPs are working for the introduction of a core UK rail freight network that includes the Channel Tunnel to connect with European networks.

More detail from: the Green New Deal and this excellent post from Tony Dyer on his Aurea Mediocritas blog.

This post is the sixth of a series giving positive reasons to vote Green in the run up to this years local elections and general election.

Why vote Green? Part Five: What do you want your MP to fight for?? clip

Public views on what they want from MP's and Green Leader Caroline Lucas in response:

Why vote Green? Part Four...

Local services and facilities of all kinds eg health facilities, old folks homes, schools, libraries, swimming pools (eg Jubilee Pool in Knowle, pictured), buses and trains, pubs, corner shops, the local high street…should be maintained and enhanced not threatened and cut. All too often the big three parties take a very narrow view, forgetting the vital social and environmental benefits of what’s available locally. Factor in benefits to the community along with purely financial considerations and you get a very different outcome to closures and cuts. The strong Green instinct for joined up (systems) thinking, for healthy local communities and being human scale means we always fight to protect local services.

This post is the fourth in a series giving positive reasons to vote Green in the run up to this years local elections and general election.

Why vote Green? Part Three...

Greens work for strong local economies, keeping wealth circulating within communities, creating secure and stable jobs locally. This promotes wellbeing, self-reliance and sustainability eg through greater local production, improved energy and food security. We believe small is beautiful and actively support small, locally owned businesses, local exchange and trading schemes and credit unions. Our approach is in stark contrast to that of the big three parties, whose focus is the global not local economy – and that results in situations like the global banking crisis and the Kraft takeover of Cadbury’s with the loss of many local jobs.

The Green plan for rebuilding the economy - the Green New Deal – is a £45 billion investment to create 1 million jobs. It will begin to build the kind of economy and society I’ve described by: redesigning the financial system so that it serves the ‘real' economy and local communities, breaking up the big banks so they are no longer ‘too big to fail', massively clamping down on tax avoidance, generating £10 billion in revenue; investing massively in renewable energy - raising wind energy production to the same level as Denmark by 2020 would alone create 200,000 jobs; investing massively in energy efficiency measures for UK homes, schools and hospitals, creating 80,000 jobs, reducing harmful emissions and cutting fuel bills; investing in public transport and in waste management; creating more affordable housing for rent; introducing green workforce training; providing decent pensions and free social care for older people to improve quality of life, creating 60,000 jobs; reducing poverty massively by introducing a Citizen's income.

*

This post is the third of a series giving positive reasons to vote Green in the run up to this years local elections and general election.

Why vote Green? Part Two...

Elected Greens are making a vital difference – impacting well above party size. Voting in another Labour, Lib Dem or Conservative person means the status quo, politics as usual, big party domination or sometimes one party monopoly. Greens improve democracy and accountability. Current electoral law unfortunately makes no provision for Cllrs and MPs to be sacked (recalled) by their voters. Greens standing in Bristol in 2010 have thus decided to do it for themselves and give voters this power where they are elected. As reported in today’s Bristol Evening Post ('Greens will give 'power' to the people') all Bristol’s Green candidates have committed themselves to abiding by a recall system, giving their voters the ability to sack them if enough sign a petition. Green Cllr Charlie Bolton’s motion to Bristol City Council to set up a recall system locally was rejected by the big three parties.


This post is the second of a series giving positive reasons to vote Green in the run up to this years local elections and general election.

Why vote Green? Part One...

Fresh, innovative thinking and action is being initiated all over the country and further afield by hundreds of Greens elected as Members of the European Parliament, Members of the Scottish Parliament, London Assembly Members, and Councillors such as the large groups in Brighton and Norwich... Greens ask questions, propose ways of approaching problems and opportunities and put forward solutions that other parties certainly do not. Dont let Labour, the Lib Dems and the Conservatives continue to get away with the mess they've made through the self-serving political system they've created - they want you to think that a green vote is a wasted one because they want the status quo and to stop you getting what you want ie change!!

Loads of examples of green action from these sites:

http://www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk/

http://www.greenmeps.org.uk/

http://www.scottishgreens.org.uk/site/5

http://robinharper.wordpress.com/

http://www.patrickharviemsp.com/

http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/members/jonesj.jsp

http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/members/johnsond.jsp

http://www.brightonhovegreens.org/localsites/bh/city-councillors.html

http://www.norwichgreenparty.org/

This post is the first of a series giving positive reasons to vote Green in the run up to this years local elections and general election.