A Green economy will use resources fairly and responsibly to provide a decent quality of life for all. Work will pay a living wage and high-quality public services will be run for public benefit, not private profit. To protect our economy we will separate retail and investment banking and limit the size of banks. Smaller companies and cooperatives will be supported to create many socially beneficial local jobs. By nurturing low-carbon industries and community economies, and by making polluters pay, a prosperous and resilient Green economy will thrive in harmony with our environment. To download our economy policy pointer click here.
A Green government will eliminate fuel poverty and address the climate crisis by investing in our thriving energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. Affordable and renewable electricity will be generated, stored and distributed as close to users as possible, with maximum local control. Instead of shackling our nation with expensive new nuclear power and environmentally reckless shale gas, we will control energy bills and create more jobs by investing in warm and efficient homes, energy storage and smart grids and in renewable energy supply, owned by public, private and community enterprises. We will ensure energy resilience by investing in energy efficiency, energy storage, diverse renewable energy generation and by expanding our international grid interconnectors.
Fracking risks climate catastrophe, polluted air, land and water, and greater dependency on expensive fossil fuels. Inflating a fracking bubble with hype and tax giveaways puts corporate wealth before public health, while diverting investment from the clean energy jobs and infrastructure we need for a resilient future. The Green Party calls for a ban on all UK fracking operations and for destructive fossil fuel subsidies to be redirected to fund energy efficiency measures, community owned renewable energy sources and the elimination of fuel poverty. To download our fracking policy pointer click here.
The Green Party believes that compassion and illness prevention must underpin our healthcare system. By supporting healthier eating, exercise and access to nature and by reducing pollution and social inequalities, a Green government will support mental wellbeing while minimising healthcare needs and costs. We will maintain a publicly funded, publicly provided and decentralised health service, while abolishing prescription charges and reintroducing free eye tests and NHS dental treatment for all. We will implement the Scottish system of free social care for elderly people.
A Green approach to industry means harnessing the power of business to create socially beneficial jobs that provide for everyone's needs. The Green Party will lead the transition to a sustainable economy through targeted support to encourage private sector investment; by applying the 'polluter pays' principle; and by encouraging ownership and control of local industries by workers and communities.
The Green Party supports inclusive education in local schools with smaller classes to enable every child to discover and fully develop their talents, whether in practical subjects, sciences, the arts or sports. A Green government will strengthen our education system by providing free school meals, ensuring every student has free access to quality higher education and by making schools accountable to parents.
The Green Party supports compassionate, empowering and effective welfare support for all. A living wage will provide a decent quality of life, while a citizen's income will cover everyone’s basic needs. An unconditional citizen’s pension - linked to average earnings - will meet the basic needs of able-bodied people, enabling dignified retirement. We will provide more flexible support to carers of disabled and mentally ill people and increase their carer’s allowance. Housing and disability support will be linked to earnings and we will double child benefit.
The Green Party will build and refurbish homes to meet everyone's needs for secure and comfortable housing. Council and co-operative housing will be prioritised for funding, housing associations democratised and protections for private tenants improved. Owners unable to pay their mortgage will have a right to rent their home from their council.
An integrated Green public transport system will be reliable, affordable, convenient and widely accessible. By investing in safe and spacious cycle lanes, pavements and pedestrian areas and in better local rail and bus networks, we will reduce air pollution and congestion. Taxes on more polluting transport will be used to provide efficient and affordable public transport alternatives. A Green government will return the railways to public ownership; re-open lines and stations and reduce fares. To download our transport policy pointer click here.
The Green Party will pursue a resilient local and global food supply to ensure everyone has access to a sufficient diet of nutritious, safe and affordable food. We will support farming and local growing practices that protect the land and wider environment, support decent jobs, provide healthy food and respect animal welfare. We will support a European ban on genetically modified food.
A Green government will take bold, responsible and scientifically credible action to avoid catastrophic climate change. We will apply a contraction and convergence strategy to reduce emissions to a safe and equal per-capita level. Pursuing the necessary annual reductions of around 10% will create many jobs. We will provide free monthly carbon emission allowances and people wanting to use more than their fair share could trade allowances. Total emissions will be capped and will reduce each year in line with our 2030 emission reduction target of 90% on 1990 levels.
The Green Party wants a reformed Europe with governing institutions designed to resist capture by corporations and instead work democratically and cooperatively in the public interest. We will promote self-determination of nations and regions acting independently on local issues, whilst protecting the ability to cooperate on global issues that affect us all, like fisheries protection, climate change or human rights.
Green countryside policies will create sustainable and self-reliant communities living in harmony with a flourishing and diverse natural environment. Local decision making and economic management will provide the goods, services and infrastructure needed to enhance the wellbeing of rural communities.
All individuals - present and future - are interdependent and rely upon the natural environment. Therefore, the Green Party views individual and community rights and responsibilities as essential for a stable, prosperous and resilient Britain.
A Green approach to rights and responsibilities means:
A Green government will safeguard basic civil and political rights of all citizens, such as access to justice - including legal representation and legal aid - and free speech. We will also protect basic social and economic rights such as access to food, housing, healthcare, education, transport, employment and nature. The Green Party will continue to support the principle of non-discrimination, including the right of all citizens to marriage or civil partnership. A Green government will support local self-governance and protect communities from corporate actions that violate their rights.
Whether in Westminster, in boardrooms or at home, women continue to face major disadvantages across all sections of UK society. The Green Party will introduce a number of strong measures to promote gender equality and safeguard women’s rights including equal pay audits, shared maternity and paternity leave and better support for women in need. To download our policy pointer on women click here.
A Green government will safeguard rights for all citizens to education, housing, health, employment and marriage or civil partnerships. We will ensure that children are free to develop their own identity without coercion. The Green Party opposes discrimination based on sexuality and gender identity. We will ensure that equality and discrimination laws apply to all organisations.
The Green Party has strong policies on animal protection. We will end factory farming, ban live export of farm animals, encourage a reduction in consumption of animal products, increase investment in humane research and end animal experiments. We will introduce tighter regulation for the breeding and keeping of companion animals, prohibit the import of exotic pets and abolish the use of animals in circuses. We are opposed to the badger cull and will strengthen the law against hunting with hounds.
You can download our latest policy pointers on the economy, fracking, transport and women here.
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