NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE GREEN PARTY IN THE LONDON BOROUGH OF BRENT
The Green Party will launch its youth manifesto today,
promising to crack down on unpaid internships, protect renters and cancel
student debt. Co-leader Jonathan Bartley, the Young Greens and the party’s
young candidates will outline a series of pledges at an event in London.
The Green Party’s youth policies will include:
- Interns and trainees entitled to
the national living wage
- Introduce a living rent for all
through rent controls and more secure tenancies for private renters
- Abolish tuition fees and cancel
all student debt
Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, is expected to say:
The Conservative Government has launched a war on young people,
taking public debt and hanging it around the necks of the next generation -
cutting their housing benefit, increasing tuition fees and scrapping education
grants.
Young people matter and a political party that fails to work
with and listen to young people, that ignores them in favour of older voters,
that thinks of the future only in terms of their tenure in office not the
lifetime of today’s youth, is not a political party at all but a closed-off
clique.
The Green Party wants to make schools and universities a
springboard for life. We’re offering young people a better future, whether it’s
a quality education, secure job, or a warm, safe home.
The Green Party will build a raft for young people negotiating
the Brexit storm. Young people have the most to lose from an uncertain future
outside the EU, and we’re promising a referendum on the final Brexit deal, with
the chance to stay in the EU if voters don’t like the Government’s deal.
The six candidates competing to be the Green Party’s London
Mayoral candidate came head-to-head yesterday in their first major
hustings event.
Councillor’s Sian Berry and Caroline Russell, Party Spokespeople
Benali Hamdache, Tom Chance and Jonathan Bartley, and activist and
mentor Rashid Nix were quizzed by an audience of over 200 at London’s
Birkbeck University.
Debating their campaign priorities and vision for the future of
London, the discussion ranged from solving London’s housing crisis,
tackling wage inequality, and action on climate change.
Jonathan Bartley said:
"This is a make or break moment for the Green Party in London. It
must seize the moment and demonstrate it has come of age. We must reach
out beyond our usual core issues and strongholds, and show that we have
an offer for every Londoner in every borough.”
Sian Berry said:
“If selected I'll work with campaigns and communities across London
and help bring their energy into our campaign. Jenny and Darren’s nearly
sixteen years in City Hall have turned the Greens into an established
and respected voice, and we can help make this Mayoral election about
the people, not just a person.”
Tom Chance said:
“I will work with campaigners and community groups for a London with
genuinely affordable housing, more equal pay and streets for people
instead of cars. Greens can give people hope of radical changes, with
credible policies. I have the experience and expertise to win London to
our cause.”
Benali Hamdache said:
“Every day in this city brilliant ideas are formed, great projects
realised and creativity flows. We must preserve this dynamism. Inaction
over soaring housing, rising costs of transport and toxic air pollution
can only threaten our city. Only a Green mayor can deliver the change
needed to keep London great.”
Rashid Nix said:
“The Greens represent an idea whose time has come. After 16 years of
red and blue politics, London has become a tale of two cities teetering
on the edge of a social and environmental abyss. London makes dollars,
but not much sense! The Green message should be broadcast from every
rooftop without a solar panel.”
Caroline Russell said:
"I love London, but I believe it can be even better. It can be both
the world's greatest city and the world's greenest city – but only if
everyone, from the wealthiest to the poorest, shares in its success. I
want London’s dynamic economy to lead a worldwide revolution in social
innovation and green technology, with a Mayor committed to ensuring that
the benefits are truly shared with everyone who lives here."
The candidates will each now take part in a series of local party
hustings. Members have until the end of August to vote for their
preferred candidate. The party expects to announce the winner of the
ballot in the first week of September.
