The Greens are trying to quadruple their parliamentary representation

Members of the Green Party of England and Wales are meeting in Brighton this weekend for their autumn conference. At the event, the party’s co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay are expected to unveil their target constituencies at the next general election.

In their keynote speech to the conference, Denyer and Ramsay are expected to set out what the party describes as its “ambitious plan” to quadruple the number of Greens elected to the House of Commons.

The Greens are hoping that their former co-leader Siân Berry will be elected in Brighton Pavilion. She’s been selected to replace Caroline Lucas in the seat, who announced earlier this year that she won’t be restanding at the next election.

Alongside Berry, the Greens are also campaigning hard to get Denyer elected in Bristol Central and Ramsay elected in Waveney Valley. The final target constituency to be formally announced by the Greens is North Herefordshire, where former MEP Ellie Chowns is the party’s parliamentary candidate.

Denyer and Ramsay are also expected to use their speech to highlight the Greens’ proposals to tackle the housing crisis. The pair will argue for a raft of policies including £145 billion over ten years for retrofitting homes, giving councils the power to introduce rent controls, and increasing the social housing stock by 150,000 homes per year.

Denyer is expected to say: “We think everyone deserves a warm, secure and affordable home. That’s how to build stronger communities and better lives for all. Yet successive governments have left a generation of renters unable to put down lasting roots because they can’t afford to get on the housing ladder – can’t even touch the first rung.  

“The broken housing market leaves people much less likely to feel at home where they live – it’s hard to prioritise building relationships with your neighbours and local shop owners when you know you could get evicted with barely a moment’s notice. And too many private landlords in England are lining their pockets despite a quarter of privately rented homes not even meeting the most basic standards of decency.  

“So as part of our promise for Fairer, Greener Homes for all, we are announcing a package of policies to make every house – and flat, and bedsit – a proper home. 

“Every home should be properly insulated and free from damp and mould. We’d give renters the legal right to demand this from their landlords. No more battling to get things done and no more risk that you’ll get kicked out for insisting your home meets basic standards. 

“And we want the amount of rent you pay to be fair, so we’d give councils the power to bring the cost of renting in line with local wages, and make sure housing benefit is enough too. No more lying awake at night worrying your landlord’s going to price you out of your home.”

Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward.

This article was jointly published with Bright Green.

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