The Green Party co-leaders have set out plans to help tackle the cost of living as part of a major announcement to mark their first 100 days in office [1].
With households across the country facing a staggering 50% hike in their energy bills in April, the Green Party has said it is more vital than ever to set out ways now to help households through this cost of living crisis.
Following the call at the Green Party autumn conference for a £320 winter fuel payment to all, co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay have said the party will support every Green Party councillor in the country to push for a retrofit revolution in their authority, as well as pressure the government into taking immediate action to help those who need it most.
The leaders will use the example set by Green councillors in Lewes, who are leading the way by working with six other local authorities to retrofit 40,000 council homes, using the collective financial firepower of their housing maintenance accounts - a combined total of £1 billion.
Now, the Green Party co-leaders have said they will work with Zoe Nicholson, the Green leader of Lewes District Council, to enable Green councillors to roll this initiative out across the country.
At the same time, they are urging the government to reverse the recent £20 cut to Universal Credit, to ensure those in receipt of welfare payments would receive an extra £1,000 to help pay for their energy bills this year.
Denyer said:
“Once again, this government is doing nothing while millions of people in England and Wales are left facing the prospect of having to choose between eating and heating, and things look like they are only going to get worse.
“Greens are not sitting around waiting for the Government to make a move. We are taking the lead from the ground up. Green Party councillors will ask their local authorities to trial a scheme which should ensure that families across the country have warmer homes and cheaper bills.
“Work like this shows why it is so important to elect Green representatives at every level of government. A Green in the room makes a difference.”
The Green Party currently has around 600 elected councillors from every level of local government in England and Wales. In 14 authorities the Greens are in administration, including Brighton and Hove, Lancaster, Lewes and Sheffield.
Greens will also push local authorities to use this opportunity to work with colleges and educational institutes to provide green skills training and develop the workforce of the future.
Ramsay said:
“This has to be the kickstart of a retrofit revolution across the country, and it is Greens who are already leading the way.
“If councils pool resources and look to work collaboratively, it will not only create a huge demand for jobs, it will also help the millions of people who are forced to live with the incredible stress of not knowing how they are going to pay their bills.
“On top of that, this is a serious boost to tackling climate change. Energy is the biggest carbon emitter in the UK. As Greens we are determined to do everything we can to create warm homes, cheaper bills and a safer environment."
Zoe Nicholson, Green leader of Lewes District Council, said:
“Councils like Lewes have responsibility to lead the way where the government lags behind and find ways to support our tenants to live in warmer and cheaper homes.
“Working with other councils means that we can move faster on retrofitting, solve the skills crisis in the workforce by developing a guaranteed pipeline of work for the renewable industry, and form local retrofit taskforces that will help those in private rented accommodation and homeowners.”
Notes
1
Monday 31 January marks 100 full days since co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay gave their maiden speech to the Green Party Autumn Conference 2021: https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2021/10/22/co-leaders-autumn-conference-speech-2021/