Green Party announces Sian Berry as London Mayor candidate

14 February 2019

* Greens announce candidates for 2020 London Mayor and Assembly elections

* Sian Berry said: “The Green Party is the only party Londoners can trust to deliver on its promises.”

* Party launches plans to put Londoners in control of tackling the housing crisis

* Berry said: “In 2016 we promised to give power to residents whose homes faced demolition, and we delivered on that promise. Now we pledge to give Londoners a say on land use in their city.”

The Green Party has announced Sian Berry [1] as its candidate for London Mayor and pledged to give Londoners control over the land in their city.

In a speech today (Thursday 14 February) [2] Berry, who will run for Mayor in the 2020 London elections, unveiled plans to create a People’s Land Bank to empower communities to find empty buildings and land and choose how to bring it back into use.

Berry, who is a Camden councillor and came third in the 2016 London Mayor race when she was elected to the London Assembly, said that planning the homes London needs should be put in the hands of Londoners.

Pointing to the Green Party’s track record of getting results for London, Berry said the Greens are the “only party Londoners can trust to deliver on their promises” to tackle the housing crisis.

Last year Berry fulfilled a manifesto pledge to win ballots for residents on estates facing demolitions. [3] Since election in 2016 she has also exposed that 4,000 of London’s social homes have been demolished and not replaced in recent years, with more than 7,000 set to be lost in plans approved by the Mayor. [4]

At the launch in Bermondsey the Green Party also announced its London Assembly candidates [5]. The Green Party is London’s third party after coming third in the 2012 [6] and 2016 elections [7]. In 2016 Sian Berry came third in the Mayoral race and first in second preference votes, while the party received the third highest vote share behind Labour and the Conservatives [8].

Sian Berry, Green Party London Mayor candidate, said in a speech to supporters (check against delivery):

“The Green Party has a proud history of getting results for London. When we make Londoners a promise, we deliver, and have made real changes even when we are not Mayor.

“In 2016 we promised to give power to residents whose homes faced demolition, and we delivered on that promise. Now we pledge to give Londoners a say on land use in their city.

“London Greens listen to what Londoners need and we act on it.That’s why we believe everyone in London should have an affordable, secure and warm home.But across the capital empty buildings like office blocks and car parks are left unused - while Londoners struggle to pay the rent or wait for years to get social housing.That isn’t right, and we have to start planning now for how we bring these underused spaces and empty land back into use.

“A Green Mayor would give Londoners control over how our city develops to provide the homes we need with a People’s Land Bank, which would empower communities to find land and buildings currently going to waste and choose how to bring it back into use.

The Green Party has the answers to London’s biggest problems and we’re the only party Londoners can trust to deliver on its promises.”

Notes:

1.

Sian Berry has lived in London for 20 years. She joined the Green Party in 2001 motivated by the threats of globalised capitalism and climate breakdown. Before becoming a full time politician Sian worked for as a campaigner at the charity Campaign for Better Transport. Sian has stood for the Greens in council elections in her home borough of Camden since 2002, elected to Camden Council in 2014.

Sian has been the Green candidate for Mayor of London twice, in 2008 and 2016. She came third in 2016 when she was also elected to the London Assembly alongside Caroline Russell. It was the second time a Green came third in the Mayoral race after Jenny Jones took the spot in 2012.

On the London Assembly, Sian is chair of the Housing Committee and a member of the Police and Crime Committee. She works on a wide range of issues, and her advocacy on behalf of Londoners has helped highlight hidden homelessness and the loss of council housing. She has also won new funding for youth services and improved renting rights. In 2018 the Mayor dramatically changed his policy and created a new right for residents on estates to have a ballot over demolition plans, after a long and successful campaign by Sian and resident groups across London.

2. The Green Party candidate for London Mayor was announced at a launch event at 2pm no Thursday 14 February 2019 in Leathermarket Gardens, Bermondsey Village Hall Trust, Kirby Grove, London, SE1 3TD.

3.https://www.london.gov.uk/about-us/london-assembly/assembly-members/publications-sian-berry/publication-sian-berry-response-mayors-plans-resident-ballots-regeneration

4.http://www.sianberry.london/news/housing/2018_09_03_net_loss-of-council-homes-regeneration/

5.

Green Party candidates on the London Assembly list:

Sian Berry
Caroline Russell
Zack Polanski
Benali Hamdache
Gulnar Hasnain
Dr Shahrar Ali
Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah
Ben Fletcher
Scott Ainslie
Hannah Graham
Peter Underwood

6.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/vote2012/assembly/

7. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2016/london/results

8. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/london-mayoral-election-results-green-party-sian-berry-second-preference-votes-a7018031.html

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