POLICIES

Our vision is to create a society which is based on trust, respect and  fairness of opportunity. We really need to challenge the status quo, and create instead a progressive society that empowers local communities, creates opportunities from challenges, acts with determination and resolve, but is above all else, truly representative.

Economic

The green Party is the only party which has the courage to face up to the uncomfortable reality that  our current lifestyle is unsustainable. The uncomfortable truth is that we  only have finite energy resources and a limited capacity to cope with the pollution our activities are generating.  The current pursuit of unfettered economic growth means that if everyone in the world were to reach our current standard of living, we would need three planets!

We face a dilemma because we need a viable economy and an active jobs market, but we cannot continue to be complacent about unsustainble levels of consumption. However with issues come opportunities, and by focusing our efforts on skills and eduction, technical innovation in renewables & the digital economy, we can start to make the most of these opportunities. More information link…

I will be writing some more in the next few days on the following subjects;

Social & Health

Social inequalities are now greater at any other time since Charles Dickens time ( Guardian 21/04/10).  This is a problems for us all since inequality has been demonstrated to be the driver for the social ills such as physical and  mental health problems including addictions, as well as crime and teenage pregnancy.  Even the more affluent suffer as trust in society decreases and the cost  of social problems increase. In addition research also shows that more affluence is not bringing greater well-being. In societies where there is less inequality there are less social and health problems, and where there is a greater emphasis on relationships and communities rather than simply money, people experience enhanced well-being.

The Green Party  thinks that this is not a sensible way to continue. We want to address the problems at their root cause and thereby create a society in which our riches are shared out more fairly, and in which everyone feels that they have a stake.

Housing

Across Britain there is a lack of affordable housing. The problem is compounded in Devon where wages are comparatively low and the cost of living high. Young people are one of the groups who are hardest hit as they struggle to make the journey towards independent living.  The Green party will fight to make affordable housing available to everybody, after all security and shelter are one of the most fundamental of human needs. There is no place in a sophisticated modern society for homelessness.

Sustainability & the Environment

We have one planet with limited resources and a finite ability to cope with the pollution which our activities create. To pretend otherwise, and believe that we can continue with untrammelled economic growth, is to bury our heads in the sand and delay the inevitable. Far better to grasp this now and set in motion policies and plans which will ease the transition to a world which is less dependent on fossil fuels and less productive of carbon emissions, since these threaten not just our standard of living but our overall security. We have the intelligence and ingenuity to develop the technologies and social structures to increase our well-being  whilst being in harmony with the natural environment on which we all depend.

Transparency & Accountabilty