Wales Green Party Look To Reform The Economy, Bring Social Equality & Tackle Climate Change
Focus On Ensuring £717b of New Income Is Distributed To Improve Public Services & Create New Jobs In A Sustainable World
The Wales Green Party launched its 2015 General Election Manifesto today with a rejection of other parties growth objective and a commitment to a 'One Planet Economy'. The Greens' priority would be to address the challenge of climate change and unacceptable growing levels of inequality.
WGP Leader Pippa Bartolotti lays out Green Vision for the future " This manifesto is about re-forming the economy in such a way that we can overcome the twin injustices of our time - climate change and widening social inequality.
"With the £717b of new income from tax avoidance, a Robin Hood Tax and aviation fuel duty we can start to put right the damage the coalition has imposed on our schools, our homes and our NHS.
"The economy can and should support the needs of everyone, whilst at the same time helping us to get much closer to living a one planet life. Only Greens have the iron will to see this through”
Greens will enable decent, secure jobs and make the minimum wage a living wage. We would increase investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency creating clean, green jobs, which will last for generations. The financial sector, whose greed and recklessness has been the major cause of our economic difficulties, would be stabilised and tightly regulated.
Greens would make changes Wales will be proud of. A Citizens Income for all will reward work rather than wealth, and replace the outdated Welfare State. Properly planned investment in public transport would help us leave fossil fuels in the ground and allow us to manage the sorry state of our carbon emissions -which are the worst in Europe.
Climate Change is the ‘elephant in the room’ that none of the other parties are addressing. Its clear to us that basing our so called ‘growth economy’ on finite resources and a banking sector that exploits investment into those industries, is leading this country down a road from which it will not be able to return
Pippa Bartolotti declared that "With one in four children living in poverty, almost a million people relying on food banks, increasing household debt levels and a society so unequal that the top 1% are worth as much as the bottom 55%, a drastic change in economic policy must be our priority."
Key policies announced at the launch were:
- to increase investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency creating thousands of clean, green jobs.
- to make the minimum wage a living wage.
- to change taxation by instigating a Robin Hood tax on financial transactions.
- to split investment (casino) banking from high street banking.
- to work towards introducing a Citizens Income for all, to reward work rather than wealth.
Bartolotti announced that she is proud that the Greens growth economic forecasts are lower than the Governments, at 6.7% compared to the Coalition's assumption of 12%. She said: "The other parties insist that the economy must grow at all costs, even if those costs include ruining our climate and environment, tolerating ever increasing inequality and the insecurity of zero hours contracts and massive underemployment. We wholeheartedly reject this approach and believe that the economy must work for us all."
Wales Green Party are standing in 35 out of 40 constituencies in Wales, so more people than ever can vote Green in Wales. The Party's membership has grown by more than 100% this year and local parties cover the whole of Wales.
Ends.
Full Candidate List :
ABERAVON: Jonathan Tier
ABERCONWY: Petra Haig
ALYN AND DEESIDE: Alasdair Ibbotson
BLAENAU GWENT: Mark Pond
BRECON AND RADNOR: Chris Carmichael
BRIDGEND: Anthony White
CAERPHILLY: Katy Beddoe
CARDIFF CENTRAL: Chris von Ruhland
CARDIFF NORTH: Ruth Osner
CARDIFF SOUTH AND PENARTH: Anthony Slaughter
CARDIFF WEST: Ken Barker
CARMARTHEN EAST & DINEFWR: Ben Rice
CARMARTHEN WEST & SOUTH PEMBROKESHIRE: Gary Tapley
CEREDIGION: Daniel Thompson
CLWYD SOUTH: Duncan Rees
CYNON VALLEY: John Matthews
DELYN: Kay Roney
DWYFOR MEIRIONNYDD: Marc Fothergill
GOWER: Julia Marshall
ISLWYN: Peter Varley
LLANELLI: Guy Martin Smith
MERTHYR TYDFIL & RHYMNEY: Elspeth Parris
MONMOUTH: Chris Were
MONTGOMERYSHIRE: Richard Chaloner
NEATH: Catrin Brock
NEWPORT EAST: David Mclean
NEWPORT WEST: Pippa Bartolotti
OGMORE: Laurie Brophy
PONTYPRIDD: Katy Clay
PRESELI PEMBROKESHIRE: Frances Bryant
RHONDDA: Lisa Rapado
SWANSEA WEST: Ashley Wakeling
TORFAEN: Matt Cooke
VALE OF GLAMORGAN: Alan Armstrong
WREXHAM: David Munnerley