A GREEN MANIFESTO FOR
HEADINGLEY, LEEDS

Photographs by Mark Reed - http://homepages.see.leeds.ac.uk/~lecmsr
 

LOCAL DEMOCRACY

Nationally

Despite devolution in Scotland and Wales, the UK still has one of the most centralised political systems in Europe. England's local councils, in particular, have been emasculated in recent years. A democratic deficit is developing, with fewer people engaged in politics, lower voter turnout and general disillusionment with the political process.

The Green Party believes that democratic structures and traditions make communities more able to develop sustainably and to retain the strength to face the challenges of economic globalisation. We therefore aim to reform our constitution, reinvigorate local government and devolve power to elected regional government. We support the uptake of proportional representation, citizen's initiatives and referenda. At the European level we work to increase the power of the elected Parliament over the unelected Commission.

Locally

We work towards:

·        An elected regional government & devolution from centre not from local councils (1971 Radcliffe Maud Report)

·        Devolving power to lowest level practicable

·        Creating a framework to encourage/support Parish & Town Councils

·        Proportional representation for local elections


 

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LOCAL ECONOMY & TAXATION

Nationally

The UK's current economic stability is built on short-term wealth creation, overuse of the world's resources and gross inequalities between people and countries. This is turning us into a dependent economy, reducing our self-sufficiency and making us more economically insecure in the medium to long term.

As consumption levels have risen, wealth inequality has also continued to rise. High levels of wealth inequality contribute to poor physical health, as well as to crime and other social problems. Even those who are materially better off are not always happier or more fulfilled. When we include these factors in our calculations of economic well-being, we can see that our overall 'wealth' has been falling since the 1980s.

Green economic policy differs from conventional economics, which treats natural, finite resources as income rather than capital. Greens see this as a fundamental economic error, arguing that finite resources must be treated as natural capital, that natural resource use must be sustainable, and that production must be cyclical, not linear.

The Green Party favours a taxation policy that achieves environmental sustainability and social equity in order to deliver real progress on long-term economic security. Taxation is needed in order to fund government expenditure, but the raising of funds is not the only purpose of taxation. We believe the way that taxes are raised can not only increase equity between individuals but also encourage behaviour that is socially and environmentally responsible.

WASTE & RECYCLING

Nationally

We only have one earth. Everything we produce and consume comes from this one finite resource. The central aim of green politics is to reduce our burden or ‘ecological footprint’ on the planet to a sustainable level.

This means we have to protect our environment. Continued reliance on industrial and agricultural processes that use up natural resources and produce ever-increasing amounts of pollution and waste is unsustainable. It is also inequitable as, increasingly, the world’s poorest countries bear the greatest burden from resource depletion and environmental destruction.

The Green Party therefore puts action on environmental protection at the heart of policy-making. Our national policies on energy use, eco-tax reform, farming and transportation will all contribute to an improved environment. Our strategy on a Zero Waste economy will substantially reduce the wastage of natural resources.
 

Locally

We work towards:

·        Separation & collection & biowaste treatment as an alternative to incineration

·        More recycling & treatment of biowaste to feed into allotments

·        Discouraging packaging etc (production of waste)

·        Education & inducements for waste reduction

·        Use of recycled goods & materials
 

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ARTS & LEISURE

Nationally

These days employed people probably work for fewer hours for fewer years than before, and holidays are longer. If you are not employed, you have to decide for yourself how to use most of your time. What you do with all this time after or between paid employment depends on the resources you have ‑ money, services, facilities, tools, skills, imagination, motivation. The distinction between work and leisure is often a false one. For many people, spare time is spent on work ‑ either for themselves (cooking, gardening, knitting, etc.) or for the community, even for their employer. Greens call this "ownwork".

Greens think that the wealth of a community will be increased by enabling its members to use their time in ways which reinforce social bonds and social responsibility, and ways which improve the quality of life. Maintaining physical health is important, but so too is mental health ‑ and this is difficult unless government ensures a cultural and physical environment which can allow social development and foster community support for individuals.

The Green Party also believes that everyone has the right to personal development through gaining and using skills, knowledge and creativity. We consider this more important than holding big events to draw in people from outside the City. We see no particular reason for the city as a whole to subsidise the expensive tastes of a few, and would support the allocation of a large proportion of resources to local Areas.
 

Locally

We work towards:

·        Encouraging School, College & University facilities for community use

·        Maximising availability of parks to the community

·        Encouraging participation as well as spectatorship in arts/sports

·        Promoting bandstands & community music, encouraging live music

·        Providing arts & leisure opportunities for improving mental & physical health

·        Supporting maintenance & extension of public footpaths & bridle ways

·        Promoting & maintaining village greens & green spaces

·        Building/creating cycle paths & lanes

·        Encouraging awareness of the history & fabric of the city

·        Supporting good and well thought out community led initiatives and transfer of assets to community control (e.g. HEART)

·        Supporting activities in the theatre and arts which encourage participation and community involvement.

·        Encouraging crafts and providing more neighbourhood workshops, instruction and tool loan facilities.

·        Exploring the possibilities of extended and flexible opening hours for Council amenities
 

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EDUCATION

Nationally

The Green Party is committed to life-long education opportunities for all. A fully rounded education - not just skills for the workplace - is necessary to help people to reach their full potential as human beings and is a foundation for an equitable and sustainable society.

We support an increase in the amount of funding available to education. Extra resources should be directed at improving staff-student ratios in schools, expanding pre-school care and developing Children's Centres. We support the scrapping of tuition fees for university education and the restoration of maintenance grants.

The Green Party believes that our education systems are too monolithic, designed for an average education, with little flexibility for individual needs or specialisms. We want to see education systems that effectively utilise the individual learner’s innate curiosity and the professional skills of the teacher. We would scrap SATs for 7, 11 and 14 year-olds and introduce a process of transition towards individualised learning plans, for those that want them, devised by pupils, parents and teachers.

Locally

We work towards:

·        Education for life – e.g. support University of the Third Age, support return of adult education (e.g. WEA, etc.)

·        Encouraging universities & colleges to open up to the community

·        Lobbying to scrap tuition fees & SATS & league tables

·        Scrapping academies & PFI for construction (long term costs)

·        Supporting more education on conflict resolution & problem solving, & more education on development & democracy

·        Maximising local control over curriculum (through abolition of SATS & national curriculum)

·        Providing smaller class sizes

·        Promoting more local schools – less travel

·        Promoting more school buses (real & walking)
 

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COMMUNITY, SAFETY & CRIME

Nationally

If it is to be successful, criminal justice cannot only be imposed from above: it needs to be a product of a dynamic, equitable and democratic community. Green policies will act to reinvigorate our local communities and reduce inequality. As with health, Green policies on crime will focus heavily on prevention, tackling the underlying social conditions and attitudes that lead to crime.

In particular, the presence and availability of guns along with 'gun culture' contribute to fear of crime, intimidation, and the reluctance of witnesses and victims to report crimes. The Green Party will tighten up legislation so that it is coherent and consistent and can be implemented on a practical level.

Restitution for the victim and the community and rehabilitation of the offender are key ingredients of the Green approach to justice. While prison plays an important role in the criminal justice system, it should not be used as a way of simply holding people with long-term drug addiction, social and mental health problems.

Locally

We work towards:

·        Improving the design of our streets and public spaces to provide a safer environment

·        Ensuring universal access to high quality youth facilities

·        Repairing damage done to public amenities and spaces promptly

·        Increasing resources for caretakers, attendants and staff on estates, railway stations, parks and other public areas

·        Viewing drug-taking as a health rather than a crime issue

·        Opposing national ID cards

·        Supporting an increase in community policing, more local police stations & more accountability to elected local government

·        Supporting independent police complaints procedures

·        Establishing mediation & conflict resolution & local law advice centres (inc restorative justice)

·        Encouraging local police to work with the local community to maintain & improve quality of life
 

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HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE

Nationally

Good quality public services, freely available to all, are key to the development of a more equitable and secure society. Increasingly, however, we are seeing health, education and other services come under pressure to adopt the principles and practices of the market place, with growing levels of privatisation and private sector delivery. Such commercialisation is undermining the universality and, particularly in the case of the NHS, the comprehensiveness, that used to be a hallmark of the UK's welfare state.

The Green Party believes we must restore pride in our public services, re-emphasise the service ethos, increase their resources and free them from commercial management. Such a commitment will require substantial public investment. In the shorter term, the funds for this will come from increases in the higher rates of income tax and corporation tax.

A healthy environment and care of one's body and mind are essential to long term health. We wish to see a shift of emphasis away from cure towards prevention, and careful consideration of the health and environmental effects of council actions.

Locally

The Council does not have direct responsibility for professional health care, but it does have many responsibilities with regard to maintaining an environment which fosters physical and mental health.

We are opposed to the 'opting out' of NHS hospitals to become self‑governing Trusts, but where this takes place we would press for the maximum of accountable local representation on Trust boards.

We work towards:

·        Establishing an Environmental Health Unit to co‑ordinate environmental health with housing, leisure services and education to ensure optimum living conditions and promote health education. This unit would also take responsibility for the occupational health of the City Council employees and endeavour to demonstrate to other local employees what can be achieved.

The Outdoor Environment

We work towards:

·        Monitoring levels of environmental contaminants and publicising results.

·        Taking action on road safety, with financial support for local road safety initiatives.

·        Taking action against dog fouling in parks and on verges with special dog‑free areas and strong enforcement of byelaws.

·        Setting up a system of Neighbourhood Caretakers who will co‑ordinate local voluntary and official action on the local environment ‑ litter, pavement repairs, vandalism, dog fouling, dumping ‑ and carry out minor odd jobs.

·        Encouraging regular rubbish collections by local people, organised through Neighbourhood Caretakers, and seeking to make communities take on more responsibility for preventing and clearing litter.

A Healthy Indoor Environment

We work towards:

·        Taking action on food and diet within the City Council and the canteens and other food providers it has responsibility for.

·        Displaying warning notices about drinking and driving wherever drink is consumed on council premises and provide a range of soft drinks as well as alcohol at all Council functions.

·        Asserting the right of all employees to refuse to work in a smoky atmosphere.

·        Helping employees with problems overcome their addiction to tobacco, drink and other drugs which affect their health.

Health Education

We work towards:

·        Promoting at school the idea of having time to relax and be quiet, and learning how to overcome stress and tension without drugs.

·        Encouraging pupils to seek a sport or activity which suits them and which they are likely to continue into adult life.

·        Supporting teaching about sex and family responsibility such as childcare, contraception, sexual relationships, sexual diseases, care of the sick.
 

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HOUSING & PLANNING

Nationally

National Green Party policy is to rationalise the subsidies on housing. The current systems of mortgage relief, tenant subsidy, housing benefits, etc. would be replaced with a single payment to everyone based on local rental costs. This would encourage the provision of private and public rented accommodation by ending the disproportionate subsidy of owner occupation.

Locally

We work towards:

·        A tax on empty properties.

·        Greatly improving the efficiency of Council nominations to Housing Associations.

·        Seeking improved provision by the Universities for students to lessen the pressure on rented accommodation.

·        Seeking to control the height and location of large scale student accommodation blocks.

·        Supporting the rights of travellers to live in the way that they have chosen; meet the legal obligation, currently ignored by the City Council, to provide an adequate number of sites with proper facilities.

·        Carrying out a comprehensive housing insulation programme and encouraging passive solar heating and energy use reduction techniques

·        Giving preference to the renovation of existing properties. Where it is necessary to build new housing, giving preference to building on derelict land. Where rural housing is needed, putting the needs of the local community first; therefore  giving preference to low cost housing.

·        Strictly enforcing the current legislation relating to houses of multiple occupation.

·        Providing grants to help the disabled convert their houses where necessary.
 

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TRANSPORT

Nationally

Our transport systems have been built to solve the wrong problem. Successive governments have tried to deal with the increasing demand for mobility by spending billions of pounds on transport plans that give us more of the same – more roads, wider motorways, more runways. Real progress on transport requires us to tackle the root causes of demand for mobility.

The Green approach is to review how we plan and structure our towns and cities, and to give priority to more sustainable modes of transport. This approach favours the public over the private, and ranks modes of transport in the following hierarchy: walking; cycling; trains, rail freight, trams and buses; road freight; private car. We target for a 10% reduction in road traffic by 2010 and in order to do this nationally we would divert £30 billion from money allocated to road building in the Government’s transport planning. The aim is to encourage a wide-scale shift from car, lorry and air use to other, more sustainable, modes of transport (the 'modal shift').

Transport policies are heavily influenced by central government which encourages spending on roads and discourages spending on public transport. The powers of local government are restricted. A Green government would lead to a reversal of priorities, and to more power for local government. A Green Council would reverse many of the policies and attitudes which have developed over the years.

The issue of land use planning is closely tied up with transport policy. Everyone needs to get to the shops, to work places, to schools or to the job centre, but planning policies and the use of the private car have meant that most of these facilities are now further away from people. In addition, communities have been split by busy roads.

Locally

We work towards:

·        Working for an integrated transport policy that includes a priority for public transport

·        Developing a planning process that reduces the need for travel

·        Campaigning for more local control over public transport

·        Introducing more car-free zones, home zones, car clubs, bus lanes, etc.

·        Improving passenger information and ensuring everyone knows about their local services

·        Encouraging operators to improve the image of public transport

·        Encouraging the use of cycles

·        Addressing seriously the needs of pedestrians and disabled people as road users

Pedal Power

Bicycles are a healthy and efficient means of transport and in cities like Leeds are as fast and convenient as cars. However, most people are put off cycling simply because traffic levels in Leeds make it a dangerous way to travel. They turn to other methods of transport which cost users and the community more ‑ for example buses and cars. Despite this, there are more bicycles than cars in the U.K. and as many new bicycles as new cars sold in each year. If the conditions were right, many more people could use their bicycles.

Local Policies

We work towards:

·        Ensuring all road modifications take account of cycle safety.

·        Making special provision for cyclists at dangerous junctions.

·        Developing a network of attractive routes and cycleways.

·        Giving maintenance of present road surfaces priority over building new roads.

·        Providing more and safer cycle parking facilities and committing the Council to a cycling budget that recognises that thousands of Leeds people use cycles.

·        Providing, protecting, maintaining and increasing public rights of way and leisure routes for walkers and cyclists.

Moves Afoot

The commonest way of making a journey is by foot. The emphasis given to motor traffic always leaves people on foot second best when it comes to crossing busy roads and walking beside them.

Local Policies

We work towards:

·        Reducing the amount of through traffic and the speed of traffic in all areas, especially in residential areas e.g. through the use of traffic calming

·        Pursuing selected pedestrianisation and road closure schemes in residential and commercial areas.

·        Providing more road crossings, keep subways clean and attractive, and generally providing safe and pleasant conditions for pedestrians where necessary at the expense of motor traffic.
 

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ENERGY, FARMING & FOOD

It is widely accepted that climate change is currently the gravest threat to our environment and our economic security. Already, extreme storms, flooding, damage to agricultural land and other climate change-related disasters are costing billions in damages and lost economic activity, particularly in the more vulnerable developing world. Soon, the exponential rise in greenhouse gases will start to have catastrophic effects on the UK economy. We need to act now, follow scientific advice and invest wisely to substantially reduce our emissions. As part of the plans to reduce emissions we need to implement strategies to reduce domestic and business energy usage. Such strategies should focus on reducing energy demand as well as increasing overall efficiency.

The Green Party supports the principles of 'Contraction and Convergence' as outlined by the Global Commons Institute which provide a strategic framework for emissions reduction as well as balancing the use of carbon-based fuel equitably between the world's peoples. Within that framework we actively support interlinked policies to reduce the amount of energy used in transportation, industrial production and heating, and to wean the UK off energy from carbon-based fuels.

A move from carbon-based fuels will require widespread investment in renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and wave. The Green Party aims to invest heavily in renewable energy production and will also work to increase the adoption of bio-gas from organic sources such as agricultural and sewage waste materials, working with the water companies to build digestion plants.

Our current approach to food supply is also unsustainable and fosters economic insecurity. For the consumer, food quality and safety continues to be compromised by factory farming and the heavy use of artificial fertilisers and pesticides. The Green Party promotes the introduction of a food chain revolution to localise our food production and supply, we support the rural economy and favour smaller, mixed farms that use less intensive methods to provide more organic produce.

Locally

There is very poor control over energy use in the City. We work towards:

·        Setting up an effective Energy Unit within the Council.

·        Developing a long term energy plan for the City.

·        Launching a sustained programme of energy education.

·        Improving the energy performance of all public buildings.

·        Encouraging Leeds people to improve the energy performance of their businesses and homes.

·        Supporting an energy and heating advice service.

·        Looking into ways of using waste heat in the City.

·        Providing support for community initiatives.

·        Discouraging light pollution by replacing inefficient and wasteful street lighting with energy efficient downward pointing lamps.

·        Ensuring that new buildings are designed and orientated to take the best advantage of solar energy.

·        Supporting micro-generation of energy, for example through small scale production, coppicing, etc.

·        Promoting and encouraging the use of allotments and production of local produce.

·        Promoting and encouraging local farmer’s markets.
 

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THE LEEDS ENVIRONMENT

Leeds is a 'mixed community' ‑ humans share the land with many other species. We believe that the expansion and development of human society has inevitably affected the diversity and integration of the ecosystems of the Aire Valley. Disruption of them has been both accidental and deliberate, and has resulted in suffering, death, or even extinction of other species.

Greens work to raise public awareness of the rights and needs of other species. In the longer term it would seek to eliminate the exploitation of other species and create an understanding of the role of humans in the web of life, and both protect and promote natural habitats.

The use of the phrase 'Nature Conservation' gives the impression that 'nature' (i.e. the natural animal, plant and insect world) is merely to be preserved within specific boundaries. We would prefer to see the citizens of Leeds living as far as possible within, and as part of, a natural environment that is not simply conserved but is cared for, cultivated and encouraged to grow.

Local Policies

·        We actively support small 'human size' farms where animals are reared organically and, as far as is practical, allowed to roam free. Animals should also be protected from climatic conditions that would be harmful to them.

·        We encourage a reduction in the consumption of all animal produce and would actively promote the development and use of foods which are both more humane and healthy.

·        We aim to introduce a 'hot‑line' to enable citizens to determine whether individual trees and hedgerows are protected and, if not, to help them place Tree Preservation Orders quickly and efficiently.

·        We actively support the growth and development of urban wildlife and ecosystems, with special emphasis on the creation of wildlife corridors.

·        Forestry would be supported and developed, both for its own sake and as a renewable resource.

·        We support the extension and improvement of green spaces, including the river and canal environments.

·        We would enforce and strengthen the prohibition of car parking on grass verges.
 

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Headingley Green Party
2 Grove Lane, Leeds LS6 2AP
info@headingleygreens.org.uk
www.headingleygreens.org.uk