Yesterday I decided to help Manchester Green Party hand out some leaflets at Hulme Market. I'd seen the invite to come and help on Facebook about 11am on Saturday morning and quickly decided that would be the best use of my next few hours - good old Social Media.
It was lovely to meet the other campaigners, including the Hulme Green Party candidate Deyika Nzeribe, Manchester Central candidate Kieran Turner-Dave and long standing Green campaigner Steven Durrant. I handed out leaflets for about an hour as well as chatting to members of the public and the other campaigners. I have to say most people who I offered a leaflet to took one, which I think is an indication of the popularity the party has in Manchester. It makes sense to me as Manchester has always been a revolutionary place that has embraced liberal political movements and people power.
It was lovely to meet the other campaigners, including the Hulme Green Party candidate Deyika Nzeribe, Manchester Central candidate Kieran Turner-Dave and long standing Green campaigner Steven Durrant. I handed out leaflets for about an hour as well as chatting to members of the public and the other campaigners. I have to say most people who I offered a leaflet to took one, which I think is an indication of the popularity the party has in Manchester. It makes sense to me as Manchester has always been a revolutionary place that has embraced liberal political movements and people power.
I passionately believe in Green Party policies as I feel they're the only party pushing for the changes needed to make a happy, healthy and sustainable society. Labour and the Lib Dems are not doing nearly enough to stand up to the destructive and divisive policies of the Tories that show no signs of relenting. Unfortunately there is no Green Party candidate in my constituency (Cheadle) so it seemed logical to go up to Hulme where I used to live and where the Greens are a clear 2nd behind Labour, and growing.
Membership of the Green Party had more than doubled in the last year to over 50'000, overtaking UKIP and the Lib Dems. That's an incredible rate of growth which I think underlines the strength and support of the party’s policies. Perhaps a few years ago there was too much focus on just the environmental issues, however now there is a strong portfolio of policies in all major areas of government. Good examples include ending austerity, and instead closing tax loopholes and introducing a 1% 'Robin Hood Tax' on the banks to properly fund public services. The party have also committed to scrapping tuition fees, ending the creeping privatisation of the NHS and bringing in a living wage of £10 an hour by 2020. You can see why plenty of people like the policies, and of course I can't neglect to mention the re-nationalisation of the rail network.
Membership of the Green Party had more than doubled in the last year to over 50'000, overtaking UKIP and the Lib Dems. That's an incredible rate of growth which I think underlines the strength and support of the party’s policies. Perhaps a few years ago there was too much focus on just the environmental issues, however now there is a strong portfolio of policies in all major areas of government. Good examples include ending austerity, and instead closing tax loopholes and introducing a 1% 'Robin Hood Tax' on the banks to properly fund public services. The party have also committed to scrapping tuition fees, ending the creeping privatisation of the NHS and bringing in a living wage of £10 an hour by 2020. You can see why plenty of people like the policies, and of course I can't neglect to mention the re-nationalisation of the rail network.
So with all these great policies (what I would call 'proper' policies) there’s still something that puts a lot of people off voting Green… they’ll never get in power. Well under the current first past the post system it is very difficult, although coalition governments do offer some hope. What anyone who believes in green politics needs to do is focus on the campaign for full proportional representation. This would mean that if the Greens get 20% of votes across the country, they will get 20% of the seats in government. There would be no more worrying about voting for one party in your constituency to stop another one getting in, you could truly vote for who you thought was the best candidate. Surely this is a more democratic system.
With the General Election now only a few weeks away (May 7th) party politics becomes more significant. I understand the frustration with the state of affairs and the voting system among a large group of people (I am too) But the answer can’t be to avoid it altogether, I think this is dangerous. We should use the system that’s in place to the best of its ability, as well as looking at ways to improve it. I think the Green Party offer genuine hope for a better society in this country, and I would encourage everyone to seriously consider voting for them at this election - which will in turn strengthen the case for proportional representation.
https://www.greenparty.org.uk/
With the General Election now only a few weeks away (May 7th) party politics becomes more significant. I understand the frustration with the state of affairs and the voting system among a large group of people (I am too) But the answer can’t be to avoid it altogether, I think this is dangerous. We should use the system that’s in place to the best of its ability, as well as looking at ways to improve it. I think the Green Party offer genuine hope for a better society in this country, and I would encourage everyone to seriously consider voting for them at this election - which will in turn strengthen the case for proportional representation.
https://www.greenparty.org.uk/