Titled “Real Hope, Real Change”, co-leaders of the Green Party Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay have offered one of the more radical of the manifestos for the 2024 general election
After a promising showing in local elections, the Green Party has unveiled their manifesto for the 2024 general election, detailing the focus of the four candidates it is hoping to get into Parliament.
In housing, the Party’s pledges include:
- Providing 150,000 new social homes every year.
- A community right to buy for local authorities for several categories of property.
- Ending the individual ‘right to buy’, to keep social homes for local communities in perpetuity.
- A variety of rental reforms, such as introducing rent controls, a new stable rental tenancy and ending no-fault evictions, as well as introducing a tenants right to demand energy efficiency improvements.
A street-by-street retrofit programme led by local authorities would also be rolled out, with investments of up to £42bn over the next five years to insulate homes and other buildings to an EPC B standard or above, as well as installing low carbon heating systems (e.g. heat pumps) for homes and other buildings.
The ‘Right Homes, Right Place, Right Price Charter’ would:
- Require local authorities to spread small developments across their areas.
- Require all new developments to be accompanied by the extra investment needed in local health, transport and other services.
- Ensure that all new homes meet Passivhaus or equivalent standards and house builders include solar panels and heat pumps on all new homes, where appropriate.
Energy remains a key focus of Green policy, with manifesto pledges including:
- A £40bn investment per year in the shift to a green economy over the course of the next Parliament.
- A carbon tax to drive fossil fuels out of our economy and raise money to invest in the green transition.
- A £12.4bn investment in skills and training, equipping workers to play a full role in the green economy.
- A share of community ownership in local sustainable energy infrastructure such as wind farms.
- Phasing out nuclear energy and stopping all new fossil fuel extraction projects in the UK, with recent fossil fuel licenses issued such as for Rosebank cancelled. All oil and gas subsidies also to be removed.
- Introducing a carbon tax on all fossil fuel imports and domestic extraction, based on greenhouse gas emissions produced when fuel is burned.
- Wind to provide around 70% of the UK’s electricity by 2030.
- Investment in energy storage capacity and more efficient electricity distribution.
Louise Hutchins, head of policy at the UK Green Building Council, commended the party’s understanding of the “scale of long-term investment needed”.
“So far, this election hasn’t been a ‘climate election’ despite the dire warnings from scientists,” she said.
“This manifesto is a useful contribution to driving the issue up the agenda given the next government will be the last capable of bringing in the game-changing policies needed.”
Harriet Clough
Twitter: @Harriet_PBC
