Green Party must ‘up its game’ on economic policy, Jamie Driscoll says

The former Labour mayor of the North of Tyne Jamie Driscoll has said that Green Party needs to ‘up its game’ on economic policy. Driscoll – who now serves as a Green Party councillor in Newcastle – made the comments at the Greens’ conference in Brighton.

The comments also followed the recent release of a report by Driscoll – Hostage Nation – which argues that the government should abandon its fiscal rules and invest in jobs and retrofitting Britain’s housing stock. The report calls on the government to “break with the failed economic consensus”.

Central to the report is it’s argument that Britain’s inability to fund secure housing, energy, transport and public services is a matter of self-imposed rules rather than a genuine shortage of resources.

Speaking from the Green Party conference, Driscoll said: “Andy Burnham’s conference speech proves that the Greens have pulled Labour to the left. We are winning the arguments on everything from public ownership to the genocide in Gaza. What Andy’s speech lacked was a plan. This is where Hostage Nation comes in.

“Britain has the money, the land and the people to reverse a death-spiral of rising bills, insecure work and climate collapse. We could guarantee citizens an energy bill they can manage, a home they can afford and a job that lasts, but we choose not to. The money is there, the powers are there; what’s missing is the political bravery. 

“The Greens have a unique opportunity to demonstrate that tackling the climate crisis will make us healthier, wealthier and more secure. Let’s start with a ‘Retrofit Blitz’ to improve our cold, leaky housing stock and create thousands of good jobs. Every £1 spent on retrofit saves the NHS 40p. It turns out the cheapest way to heat a home is also the quickest way to decarbonise a country.”

The report has the backing of the former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis. He said: “Of all the blueprints I have read on how to redress the long-term damage austerity and financialisation have inflicted upon Britain’s society, this one is the most impressive – and hope inspiring. A must read.

“It tells the people out there, ‘Here is what our governments could be doing today if they only chose to.’

“It exhausts the limits of the present institutional and legal framework to bring on the most radical changes and maximum tangible social benefits, while remaining within the realm of political-institutional ‘moderation’. In this sense, it is commendable and to be welcomed enthusiastically.”

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