Emma Dawnay – Green
We have an unstable financial system which crashed in 2008. This is something we can and should change. The response to the subsequent economic downturn – of trying to reduce the government deficit with severe cuts to public services – was simply wrong. Governments can borrow at extremely low interest rates, which they should have done to invest in our public services.
Not doing so has left many people struggling and led everyone to (wrongly) believe that “there is not enough”, which, in my view, has fuelled anti-immigration sentiment and worsened many problems from knife crime to mental illnesses as well as side-lining the biggest threat we face: the climate emergency.
Green Party policies will be good for people and good for the planet. Here are some of them:
Energy: A Green New Deal
The Green Party will tax carbon, the proceeds of which will be given back to everyone. This will give the right incentives. We will invest in all sorts of renewable energy, creating high-tech jobs and business opportunities and we’ll reduce people’s energy bills by insulating homes and workplaces.
A Basic Income
£89/week given unconditionally (on top of disability and housing benefits) will allow more people to train for highly skilled jobs, as well as allowing others to care for children and elderly family members.
Democracy
Votes only count in marginal seats. Parliament is not representative and unable to deal with complex questions such as Brexit. We will introduce proportional representation.
Brexit
The EU has problems – as does Brexit. The referendum result was close, and Vote Leave was fined for cheating. We will hold a People’s Vote – with the choices of either ratifying the Brexit-deal or remaining and reforming the EU from within. We will campaign for remain and reform as this will enable us to tackle the climate emergency most effectively.
A huge threat here in Wiltshire if we leave would be that our farmers will become uncompetitive due to cheap imports from the USA (where they allow more pesticides, herbicides, growth hormones and factory farms with low animal welfare). We would fight to maintain our standards in future trade deals to protect our environment and our farming businesses.
We must not allow workers’ rights and environmental standards to be reduced ‘for the sake of the economy’, rather, it is the job of government to make the economy function for the benefit of people and the planet.