We need action now to make the North West a better place to live. The Green Party is closely involved in numerous campaigns that aim to improve our economy, our society and our environment. Scroll down the page to find out more.
The Green Party is opposed to fracking because:
Green Party policy document on fracking.
The Green party and other interested organisations organise Green Mondays at the Preston New Road site. Recent and future speakers outside the gates at Green Mondays include:
Speeches commence at different times each week, but usually around 12:30pm. Parking at Maple Farm Nursery, PR4 3PE or the back car park of The World of Water. If using the latter let someone in Ma Baker's Cafe know.
In a landmark legal case in the US, the court ruled that Monsanto had acted maliciously in covering up evidence that their glyphosate weed killer, Roundup, is carcinogenic. The product has also been shown to be toxic to bees and other pollinators, and its widespread use may be partly responsible for their alarming decline. Roundup is routinely used by councils in the UK. Safer alternatives are available, including plant-based non-toxic steam foam. If your local council is still using this product, you might consider raising awareness locally and helping to protect people by getting it banned. In some places it is being used on school fields and playgrounds!
Our First-Past-the-Post system disadvantages progressive parties and the national party is keen to campaign for Proportional Representation. Nationally we are collaborating with Make Votes Matter to push for this. Democracy activists are also campaigning against the new national planning policy framework, which is a threat to local democracy and allows fracking to be imposed on local communities without their consent, as well as highlighting the electoral fraud behind Brexit.
The proposed route will be devastating to woodlands and wildlife. The financial implications are shocking. The benefits, if any, are to the wealthy not to ordinary people. There is a need for massive investment in the rail networks in our region. Access for people with disabilities is poor around the country. In light of this, HS2 does not look like a good use of public funds.
The Green Party has a strong policy platform on mental health and influential professionals in psychology are keen to work with us to push for much needed reform. At Autumn Conference in Bristol, Caroline Lucas highlighted the mental health co-benefits of action to protect and restore our natural world. The Extinction Rebellion movement is also highlighting the prevalence of ‘eco-anxiety’ amongst activists and concerned citizens, especially young people, as global greenhouse gas outputs continue to rise and it looks increasingly inevitable that we will overspend the carbon budget for a safe future.
A regional campaign to connect ecosystems and mental health recovery is under consideration. The ultimate aim would be to establish a right for communities to own green spaces to promote biodiversity, carbon capture and mental health. Surprisingly, austerity notwithstanding, there are grants available from Mersey Forest and other sources to encourage community woodland initiatives. There is a need to plant a lot more trees just to compensate for losses from Ash Dieback Disease.
Our campaigns reflect what we stand for. For more detail on our policies, all of which are written by ordinary members and agreed democratically, see our policy page or the policy section of our national website for summaries.
If you feel you can contribute to any of these campaigns, please contact the regional campaigns co-ordinator: Jackie Tait.
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