23 eye-catching policies from the Green manifesto

Cannabis social clubs, sawdust cycle lanes and a Ministry of Sanctuary.

The Green Party launched their manifesto today, focussing on ten key bills which they promise to pursue in the next parliament.

These focussed on the areas you might expect – climate change, Brexit, housing, tuition fees, electoral refom and the NHS.

However, their actual manifesto had a lot of detailled policies in lots of areas. As co-leader Jonathan Bartley said in his manifesto launch speech, where the Greens start, the other parties soon follow.

Here’s 23 policies which caught my eye.

  1. Use the Queen’s coasts for wind and marine energy

Much of the UK’s coastline is owned by the Crown Estate, which is the Queen’s public (rather than private) property.

The party wants to work with the Crown Estate to open up more coastal waters for offshore wind and marine energy and “ensure these vital energy assets come to the UK government rather than energy firms”.

2. Plug into Norway and Iceland’s renewable energy

The Greens want to connect our power supply more closely with Britain’s neighbours so we can import energy when needed and export it when we have a surplus.

The manifesto singled out subsea connections to Norway and Iceland – and their hydro and geothermal energy – for particular encouragement.

3. Build cycle lanes with woodchip and sawdust

The party would spend £2.5bn a year building cycleways using sustainable materials – like woodchip and sawdust.

4. Ban advertising for flying

As well as ending the VAT exemption for domestic flights and introducing a frequent flyer levy.

5. Remove VAT from UK hotels, homestays and attractions

The party hopes this would encourage more people to holiday in the UK and reduce carbon emissions from travel.

6. Require ten-year warranties on white goods

The party also says it would ban the practice of manufacturers making goods they know are going to break down in a few years time.

7. Fix the hedgerows

The party says it would “encourage the expansion and replanting of majority of hedgerows lost in the last 50 years through new subsidies, creating new environments for wildlife”.

8. Meat and dairy tax

This would reduce emissions from livestock. Measures would be taken to make sure farmers aren’t left worse off, they say.

9. Focus the EU in Brussels not Strasbourg

Currently, EU staff and operations are split between Brussels and Strasbourgh – a city 500 km away. The Greens call this “wasteful” and want everything moved to Brussels.

10. Reduce EU migration in the long-term

By “correcting imbalances caused by labour market inequalities across Europe”. To do this, the party want an EU-wide minimum wage and fiscal transfers through the Euro.

11. Put a ‘Carbon Chancellor’ in 11 Downing Street

The party want to create a new government department to oversee the Green New Deal. This person would be the ‘Carbon Chancellor’ based in number 11 Downing Street – where the Chancellor of the Exchequer traditionally lives.

12. Scrap the Home Office

To end its “decades-long creation of a hostile environment”. The party would split the department in two – a ministry of sanctuary and an interior ministry.

The ministry of sanctuary would deal with immigration and the interior ministry with domestic security.

13. Rename the Ministry of Defence

They’d call it the ‘Ministry for Security and Peace’ and would make the promotion of peace a key foreign policy objective.

14. Close down the government’s arms promotion unit

The Department of International Trade’s Defence and Security Organisation is a group of civil servants whose job is to promote arms sales.

It’s effectively a subsidy to private arms companies and the party says it would end all taxpayer subisides to arms companies.

15. Try and make the Amazon, Arctic and Antarctic world nature reserves

Commercial exploitation of resources would be banned in these reserves and the rights of indigenous people protected.

16. £12 minimum wage

For everyone 16 years and over.

17. Ban military training from National Parks

Along with mineral extraction and road building.

18. Compulsory hedgehog holes in all new fencing

To reintroduce nature to our urban environments. Other policies include bee corridors and street planting of native trees.

19. Create a nature GCSE

So children learn about animals, the environment and plants outdoors and learn to value nature.

20. Make misogyny a hate crime

Also, increase the police’s capacity to deal with domestic violence.

21. Pardon those convicted of possessing and supplying small amounts of drugs

And expunge their criminal records. Drugs would be legalised and drug addiction treated as a health issue not a crime.

22. Allow for licensed Cannabis Social Clubs

So that adults can grow and smoke cannabis together.

23. Reduce VAT on pubs and bars

So that food and drink is cheaper. This would also apply to music concerts, theatre, museum and gallery tickets.

4 Responses to “23 eye-catching policies from the Green manifesto”

  1. 7 thoughts on the Green Party's manifesto launch | Left Foot Forward

    […] of the 92-page manifesto, the party sent the press a list of ten bills it will introduce in the next parliament. The […]

  2. Charlie Browne

    Misogyny AND misandry to be a hate crime?
    Insulting people because they were born out of wedlock to be a hate crime?
    Using the word “little” as a derogatory insult to be a hate crime?
    How about “free” public transport for all, to encourage a reduction in car use; rather than imposing fines on drivers to discourage car use?
    Regards

  3. Dave Roberts

    Some of the points sensible such as the ones to generate energy from the coasts, although basic stuff like who’s going to pay for it is of course missing, but most of it pie in the sky and vote losers.

    One I would add that would undermine populism is to stop blaming the White Working Class for slavery and to teach in schools that African tribal leaders were responsible for selling their own people to European traders as well as that the biggest slavers were the Arabs. Inconvenient history.

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