The Green Party says it wants to “fix broken Britain” through an investment program paid for by the “very rich” in society.
Speaking at its launch in East Sussex, co-leader Carla Denyer said the suggested “overhaul” of the tax system would see “billions go into the country’s collective pockets to pay for the future of our public services”, including the NHS, schools and social care.
Fellow leader Adrian Ramsay said the party was “realistic” in saying it would not form the next government.
But he said after the July 4 election, “we plan to be in parliament in greater numbers to speak on your behalf about the issues you care about, such as a revitalized NHS, bold action on climate and a fair economy.”
Politics live: Greens launch manifesto with promise to reach the ‘super-rich’
In its 45-page manifesto, the party presented a series of policies, many of which are covered by the richest 1%, having to “pay a little more into the pot”.
This would include an annual wealth tax of 1% on assets over £10 million and 2% on assets over £1 billion, along with reforms to Tax gains align with workers’ income tax and remove the national insurance earnings cap.
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The Greens believe this could raise up to £70 billion a year, with their plans to introduce a carbon tax adding a further £80 billion to the government’s coffers.
But unlike some of its rivals, the party also said it was “prepared to borrow to invest” rather than be “trapped in a self-imposed fiscal straitjacket.”
When it’s about the NHSthe manifesto says in bold that they are committed to a “fully public and properly funded health and social care system”, with an investment of £50 billion.
But more specifically, the party will push for an annual reduction in waiting lists, guaranteed access to NHS dentists, guaranteed rapid access to a GP – on the same day if urgent – and an immediate increase in pay for NHS staff . , including the restorative pay that junior doctors are striking for, as well as hospital construction and repairs over the next five years.
In social care, the Greens want to see a £20 billion investment in free personal care, to increase staff pay rates and introduce a new “career structure” for carers in order to “rebuild the workforce of care”, along with an additional £3 billion for children’s social care. specifically care.
Its housing policies include the launch of a new charter to force local authorities to spread small housing estates across an area, and a commitment to build 150,000 new social homes every year by the end of the next parliament – as well as ending the scheme of the “right to purchase”. which takes these houses out of circulation.
New homes would have to meet energy efficiency standards, including installing heat pumps and solar panels “where appropriate”, and the party would push for a street-by-street retrofit scheme to insulate homes, “because a warm, safe home and affordable is something millions of people in this country don’t have, but…it’s a basic building block for a happy, successful life,” Denyer said.
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Ramsay said the climate crisis was “virtually absent” from the election campaign, but his party’s commitment was to put “the protection of our climate and nature at the heart of all our policies”, adding: “Only the Greens understand that the The solutions to the climate crisis are also the solutions to the cost of living crisis.”
The Greens will push for a transition to a “zero-carbon society as quickly as possible” – and more than a decade ahead of the current 2050 target.
Plans include seeing 70% of the UK’s electricity supplied by wind power by 2030, more investment in energy storage capacity and the cancellation of all recent fossil fuel licenses such as Rosebank – as well as calling for the phase-out of nuclear power .
“The science is clear,” Ramsay said. “The voters’ desire is clear. Now we need representatives in parliament who are ambitious enough to make this a reality.”
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Other policies in the Green Party manifesto include:
• Bring rail, water supply and the big five energy companies into public ownership
• Elimination of the Trident nuclear deterrent
• Create a new immigration department and provide safe routes for asylum seekers fleeing persecution
• Abolish the House of Lords and replace the first post-election system
• Introducing a minimum wage of £15 per hour and moving to a four-day working week
• Elimination of monthly fees
• Bring a law to protect nature and a new commission on animal protection
“Now is the time to be ambitious, not unrealistic, but ambitious,” Denyer said. “To be clear about the kind of country we want to live in. About how broken our public services are and the actions needed to correct them.
“Because we can have an NHS that works. We can have an economy that benefits everyone, not just the richest.
“Think about it. We can achieve this. We can have real hope and real change for the future.”
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
