17 November 2019

The Green Party will increase the Living Wage to £12 for all workers as part of its radical plans to tackle poverty and improve wellbeing, it has announced today.

 

The proposal will end the Government’s fudge in calling their minimum wage a ‘National Living Wage’ by bringing all workers up to the necessary level of pay for a decent life. 

 

The higher rate for the Green Living Wage compared with all other previous suggestions comes from a more realistic estimate of housing costs for families and the need for a buffer for unexpected and seasonal costs, like home repairs and school uniforms.

 

The proposals also make a commitment to extending the £12 living wage to those under the ages of 18, 21, and 25, and to include apprentices, to end the discrimination against young workers and trainees. 

 

Under the current system, the minimum wage for under-18s is £4.35, for 18 to 20-year-olds it is £6.15, and for 21 to 24-year-olds it is £7.71, while apprentices can be paid as little as £3.90. The national rate for those aged over 25 is £8.21, while the Living Wage Foundation’s Living Wage rate is now £9.30 outside London.

 

The Green Living Wage would be phased in over two years and would mean those aged 18-21 would see an increase of £5.85 in their hourly wage by April 2022.

 

Sian Berry, co-leader of The Green Party, said: 

 

“The Living Wage must mean what it says on the tin, and the Government has made a mockery of this concept by simply renaming the minimum wage, while not using the evidence to set the rate at a level people can build a life on. I’m proud that the Green Party will set this right and make sure all workers in the UK receive at least £12 an hour.

 

“The Green Party will end the discrimination against young people where it is legal to pay under-21s a genuine pittance for doing exactly the same work as someone older. It isn’t fair, it doesn’t make sense, and it must stop.

 

“What message does that send to young people? That their time is worth half someone else’s? Everyone, no matter how young or old they are, deserves to be paid enough to live a decent life.

 

“The Living Wage is another example of how Greens lead and others follow. In our 2015 manifesto, we were the only party to promise a Living Wage of £10 an hour by 2020, while Labour only wanted £8 an hour, below what even the Conservatives have in place now. This election, all the political parties claim to be offering a Living Wage, but only the Green Party is using the evidence to set the rate at the right level.”

Tweet

Back to main news page

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

14 November 2019

 

The Green Party has announced that it is standing 500 parliamentary candidates in the December General Election. 

 

This is up from 453 parliamentary candidates in the 2017 General Election. 

 

The Green Party is aiming to hold the seat in Brighton Pavillion, and capture new seats elsewhere in the country. 

 

The Party announces that it will be launching its manifesto next week, pledging to tackle the Climate Emergency and eliminate poverty within a decade. 

 

Jonathan Bartley, Co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales said:

 

“The Green Party has had a whirlwind year, more than doubling our number of local councillors and electing seven Greens as Members of the European Parliament. We are running the Green Party’s most ambitious campaign ever and our Green ideas are setting the agenda.

 

“It was a Green Party Councillor who got the first climate emergency motion on Bristol City Council, which led a movement of hundreds of local authorities who followed suit. This culminated in the House of Commons declaring a Climate Emergency this spring.

 

“Where Greens lead, others follow. That’s why we are so excited that in 500 constituencies, people will be able to cast their vote for a Green Party Candidate. We need more Green MPs in Parliament to put pressure on the Government and campaign for their constituents. Every single vote in this election sends a strong and clear message: Yes to Europe and No to climate chaos.”

 

Tweet

Back to main news page

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

13 November 2019

The Green Party will appoint a Carbon Chancellor to 11 Downing Street to ensure the climate emergency is placed at the heart of government, under plans to be unveiled today.

The Greens will announce their ground-breaking plans outside the Treasury, where they will set out the urgent need for a radical change in how central government works to prioritise environmental and social well-being over the single-minded focus on Gross Domestic Product. 

The Carbon Chancellor will head up a new Department for the Green New Deal, will allocate the £100 billion a year Green New Deal Fund and issue an annual carbon budget to direct the decarbonisation of the economy.

The Treasury will become a new Department for Economic Transformation working alongside the new Department for the Green New Deal.

Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party, will launch the policy today outside the Treasury.

He said:

“Every sector of the economy needs to decarbonise if we are to become carbon neutral by 2030. Only the Green Party has the bold vision and practical solutions to make our economic system work for the people and the planet. A Carbon Chancellor in 11 Downing Street will mean the Prime Minister can’t even walk out of the front door without thinking about the climate emergency.

“We need to fundamentally change the way Government works if we are going to have any hope of tackling the Climate Emergency. Making the Treasury a Department for Economic Transformation and creating a new Department for the Green New Deal will put responsibility for the climate emergency at the heart of government.”

Green Party will place Carbon Chancellor in 11 Downing Street to put climate at the heart of government 

·         Green Party will appoint Carbon Chancellor to oversee Green New Deal and carbon budget

·         Position at the head of a new Department for the Green New Deal will drive through shift from current focus on economic growth to environmental and social well-being

·         Co-leader Jonathan Bartley: “A Carbon Chancellor in 11 Downing Street will mean the Prime Minister can’t even walk out of the front door without thinking about the climate emergency”

The Green Party will appoint a Carbon Chancellor to 11 Downing Street to ensure the climate emergency is placed at the heart of government, under plans to be unveiled today [Wednesday 13 November].

The Greens will announce their ground-breaking plans outside the Treasury, where they will set out the urgent need for a radical change in how central government works to prioritise environmental and social well-being over the single-minded focus on Gross Domestic Product. 

The Carbon Chancellor will head up a new Department for the Green New Deal, will allocate the £100 billion a year Green New Deal Fund [1] and issue an annual carbon budget to direct the decarbonisation of the economy.

The Treasury will become a new Department for Economic Transformation working alongside the new Department for the Green New Deal.

Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party, will launch the policy today outside the Treasury.

He said:

“Every sector of the economy needs to decarbonise if we are to become carbon neutral by 2030. Only the Green Party has the bold vision and practical solutions to make our economic system work for the people and the planet. A Carbon Chancellor in 11 Downing Street will mean the Prime Minister can’t even walk out of the front door without thinking about the climate emergency.

“We need to fundamentally change the way Government works if we are going to have any hope of tackling the Climate Emergency. Making the Treasury a Department for Economic Transformation and creating a new Department for the Green New Deal will put responsibility for the climate emergency at the heart of government.”

Tweet

Back to main news page

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

7 November 2019

The Green Party has come to an arrangement with Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats to field one candidate from a Remain party in selected seats in England and Wales for the upcoming election.

Liberal Democrat or Play Cymru candidates will step aside for the Greens in 10 seats.

Co-Leader of the Green Party Jonathan Bartley said: “This is about recognising how damaging Brexit would be – for people and for the environment – and ensuring there is as much representation of Remain parties in the next Parliament as possible. 

“Our country is at a crossroads and this election must be the point at which we start to move in a better direction. Everyone knows the Greens are the least tribal of any party and we are always willing to work with others for what’s in the best interests of the country.”

Agreements have been reached through discussion with local parties. 

Sian Berry, Green Party Co-Leader said: “The crash-out Brexit the Tories are pushing for would be a disaster for people up and down England and Wales – and for action on climate chaos.

“Yes, as political parties we have differences, but what we’ve agreed is that on the climate, on stopping Brexit, saving local services and fixing the voting system, we must work together now so we can work together in the new parliament to make these things happen.”

The Green Party supports a People’s Vote to decide the future of Britain in the EU and will campaign to Remain.

60 seats are involved in the arrangement overall.

The Green Party will field candidates in Bright Pavilion, Isle of Wight, Bristol West, Bury St Edmunds, Stroud, Dulwich and West Norwood, Exeter, Forest of Dean, Cannock Chase 

A full list of the seats involved in the UTR arrangements can be found below

GREEN PARTY WALES SEAT:

Vale of Glamorgan

GREEN PARTY ENGLAND SEATS:

Brighton Pavilion (Held)

Isle of Wight

Bury St Edmunds

Bristol West

Stroud

Dulwich & West Norwood

Cannock Chase

Exeter

Forest of Dean

PLAID CYMRU SEATS:

Arfon (Held)

Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Held)

Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Held)

Ynys Mon

Pontypridd

Caerphilly

Llanelli

LIB DEM WALES SEATS:

Brecon & Radnorshire (Held)

Cardiff Central

Montgomeryshire

LIB DEM ENGLAND SEATS:

Bath (Held)

North Norfolk (Held)

Oxford West & Abingdon (Held)

South Cambridgeshire (Held)

Totnes (Held)

Twickenham (Held)

Westmorland & Lonsdale (Held)

Bermondsey & Old Southwark

Buckingham

Cheadle

Chelmsford

Chelsea & Fulham

Cheltenham

Chippenham

Esher & Walton

Finchley & Golders Green

Guildford

Harrogate

Hazel Grove

Hitchin & Harpenden

North Cornwall

Penistone & Stocksbridge

Portsmouth South

Richmond Park

Romsey & Southampton North

Rushcliffe

South East Cambridgeshire

South West Surrey

Southport

Taunton Deane

Thornbury & Yate

Tunbridge Wells

Wantage

Warrington South

Watford

Wells

Wimbledon

Winchester

Witney

York Outer

Tweet

Back to main news page

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

6 November 2019

· Green Party pledges to invest £100bn in climate action a year for the next decade

· Party sets out ambition to make Britain carbon neutral by 2030

· Co-leader Sian Berry: “Some things are even bigger than Brexit. This must be the climate election”

The Green Party today [6 November] pledged to invest £100 billion in climate action each year for a decade as it announces the most ambitious Green New Deal of any political party at its campaign launch [1] in Bristol.

The Greens set out their ambitions to make Britain fossil free by 2030 with the biggest public investment in decades in order to protect the future of our planet [2].

Sian Berry, Co-Leader of the Green Party, urged voters to make 12 December the “climate election” and ensure it goes down in history as the turning point in the fight for climate justice.

Deputy leader Amelia Womack set out the Green’s plan to get to carbon neutrality by 2030 by building 100,000 energy-efficient homes each year, revolutionising transport infrastructure, rapidly rolling out renewable energy in Britain and creating hundreds of thousands of low carbon jobs.

The launch took place in Bristol West, one of the Green Party’s key target seats as it looks to build on the two best ever election results in Green Party history [3].

Carla Denyer, the Green’s candidate for Bristol West, also spoke at the launch. Denyer, currently a councillor on Bristol City Councillor, proposed the first Climate Emergency motion in the UK in November 2018 [4].

Berry said:

“Let’s be honest about the situation we’re in. We know these are dark times. It’s easy to fear the future.

“The threat of Brexit hangs over our heads, the climate emergency rages from the Amazon to the Arctic, and our fragile democracy is under attack.

“But despite all this, Greens don’t fear the future. We welcome the future. Because we know that we stand at the threshold of what could be the most exciting and prosperous period of British history.”

Womack said:

“This could be our last chance to elect a Parliament to keep us below dangerous warming.

“The climate doesn’t care about promises. The environment doesn’t care about pledges.

Tweet

Back to main news page

Let’s block ads! (Why?)