Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Green Party | Caroline Lucas urges voters to go Green on May 5th

I like the examples of what Green local councillors have achieved here*. In Bristol the Green Party presence on the council has: initiated the climate change select committee, vice chaired by Cllr Charlie Bolton which resulted in over 40 policies being adopted by the council; initiated the sustainable transport select committee, chaired by Cllr Charlie Bolton, which also had many policies adopted; produced the motion which led to the saving of the Bristol-Bath railway path; tried to get Bristol councillors to be eligible for ‘recall’, giving people a way to get rid of them; produced a policy motion to the council aimed at saving residential caretakers; gained extra money for energy efficiency measures; proposed a motion to decentralise the distribution of Section 106 money, now taken up by the council.

*Greens in local government have produced alternative budgets showing that savings can be made without cutting vital public services.

In Brighton, for example, Greens helped persuade the ruling Tory administration to drop plans to rip out a cycle path at a cost of over £1million.

In Oxford, Leader of the Green Group, Cllr David Williams put forward a costed budget which would have reversed some of Labour's spending cuts. Greens wanted to cut the number of senior council officers and take back their recent 23% pay increase.

Lancaster Green Party's local manifesto puts forward its vision for a fairer, greener society and explains in detail what Lancaster Green Councillors have done for their city. Local Cllr Andrew Kay says, "We will not stand by and watch the rich get richer, while ordinary people lose their jobs and the services they depend upon."

In Norwich, where the Green Party is the second largest group on the Council, Greens have invested in renewable energy, spoken out against the crippling cuts and lobbied Government to deal with the financial difficulties in a fairer way.

Green Party Caroline Lucas urges voters to go Green on May 5th

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