Greens announce 'bold' policies on wealth tax and net zero targets
The Green Party has launched its general election 2024 manifesto promising ‘real hope, real change’ to ‘mend broken Britain’ with an emphasis on reforming the tax system and strengthening the green economy.
Launching the manifesto were the Greens co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, with Denyer describing the manifesto as “a look at what things could be like if we’re bold.”
Here are five key takeaways from the party’s offer to voters:
Tax system overhaul
The Greens have proposed a fairer tax system they say would raise billions of pounds for public services by taxing the super-wealth and top earners.
This includes raising National Insurance to 8% on people earning over £50,270 and introducing a 1% wealth tax on assets over £10m, and 2% on over £1bn.
Ramsay said: “The cost of increase in NI for someone on £55,000 a year would be an extra £5 a week. People earning under £50,000 would not be affected.”
He added it was a “modest amount that will help create a fairer society”.
Rental reform
Renters were promised greater protection with the Greens push to introduce rent controls, with the manifesto pledging a new stable rental tenancy and an end to no-fault evictions. Among the housing pledges is also a Green Economic Transition to deliver an ‘unprecedented retrofit programme’ to make homes warmer and cheaper to run.
NHS £50bn investment
One of its biggest policies is a pledge to invest over £50bn per year by 2030 for health and social care, and an extra £20bn capital investment for crumbling hospitals, primary care buildings and outdated equipment. The party has reiterated its commitment to a fully-funded NHS and among its pledges is a year-on-year reduction in waiting lists.
Nationalisation
A commitment to nationalise water, rail and the big five retail energy companies was made by Denyer during the manifesto speech, which received a loud applause from the audience. During her speech, she said that now was the moment to be ”ambitious, not unrealistic, but ambitions”.
Bring forward net zero
The Greens have accused other parties of “running away” from solutions to the climate crisis, while emphasising that climate and nature are “at the heart of our policies”.
The party said it will push the Government to transition to a zero-carbon society as soon as possible, and more than a decade ahead of the 2050 date. Among the clean energy investment pledges are to cancel recent fossil fuel licences, stop all new extraction projects in the UK and introduce a carbon tax.
Co-leader Ramsay said the Greens don’t expect to form the next government, but that getting Green MPs in Parliament will mean they can “speak up for you on the issues you care about”.
The Greens have set their sights on getting four MPs into Parliament, most notably in Brighton and Bristol.
Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward
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