Greens pledging to 'take back' NHS

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 14 April 2015 | 15.36

Natalie Bennett and Caroline Lucas
Natalie Bennett and Caroline Lucas will launch the party's election manifesto

The Green Party is launching its election manifesto with a call to "take back" the NHS from the private sector.

Party leader Natalie Bennett and MP Caroline Lucas will also highlight a new 60% rate of income tax and a 10% cut in public transport fares.

The Greens are fielding a record number of candidates - 571 - on 7 May and they claim a surge in membership numbers.

Ms Bennett will say the manifesto represents a "genuine alternative" to "business-as-usual politics".

The party will call for a free nationwide insulation programme to tackle cold homes, specifically in areas blighted by fuel poverty, which it says affect two million children.

'No coalition'

The Greens will also demand an extra £1.3 billion on the NHS budget to deal with the associated costs of cold homes.

"We believe if we invest in insulating people's homes, we can get their fuel bills down on a permanent basis," Ms Lucas told BBC Radio 4's Today programme

"It would also get our climate change emissions down and could create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

"And crucially, for every £1 invested in this programme, it's estimated that £1.27 comes back to the economy in terms of the benefit in jobs and reduction on the NHS bill."

Ms Lucas said the government had "a woeful record on energy insulation", with the installation of energy efficient measures in UK homes falling by 80% over the last two years.

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The Green Party says it has attracted thousands of new members over the past year. The challenge in this election will be to see that surge in support translate into parliamentary success.

Victory in Brighton Pavilion, where Caroline Lucas has been the party's sole MP, is vital to ensure the Greens' stint at Westminster isn't just seen as a blip.

The party will publish its manifesto calling for a "peaceful political revolution" to end austerity and tackle climate change.

But after promising a fully costed manifesto, the party should expect a deep analysis of its policies and significant scrutiny of the costs involved.

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The Green Party has called for a "progressive alliance" with the SNP if it has MPs at Westminster in the next Parliament.

But Ms Lucas said the Greens would not get involved in a "formal coalition" with any major party, claiming support on "a case by case basis is a much more effective way for a smaller party to make inroads.

"We've ruled out being a coalition government," she told Today. "When you look at the experience of the Liberal Democrats in their coalition with the Tories, it's not a model that's been a huge success for them - you end up losing your identity and possibly, your integrity as well.

"We're a party committed to redistribution, social justice and to crucially recognising that we live on a planet of finite resources, and unless we have that understanding at the heart of all our policies, then we're not going to be able to live in a safe way into the future."

Scrap road building

Recently, Ms Bennett said the party's policy of a Citizens' Income of £72 a week for every adult in Britain would feature in the manifesto, but that it would take longer than one parliament for it to be implemented.

The cut in public transport fares would be paid for by scrapping new road-building programmes, while the party is also expected to pledge free social care for the elderly.

At the weekend, Ms Bennett said the 60% top rate of tax would apply to people earning over £150,000 and that it would raise £2bn a year.

Taxation

Green

Main pledges

  • Close taxation loopholes and crack down on tax avoidance
  • Introduce a wealth tax of 1-2% on people worth £3m or more
  • Salaries above £150,000 a year incur 60% income tax rate
  • Introduce a financial transaction tax (a "Robin Hood" tax) on banks

Ms Lucas said the Greens would not rule out banning the Grand National if there was sufficient evidence of an animal welfare issue.

At the manifesto launch in East London, Ms Bennett is expected to promise to reverse what she calls the "creeping privatisation" of the NHS.

She will say: "Austerity has failed and we need a peaceful political revolution to get rid of it.

"Our manifesto is an unashamedly bold plan to create a more equal, more democratic society while healing the planet from the effects of an unstable, unsustainable economy."

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