The Green Party. Discuss.

[Hermit]

I simply don't believe it, their goals stil are to send us back into a premodern living mode, more progessively,, but that's still their objective nonetheless.

What do you base this on? Can you link or quote something which asserts this?

It's based on the quote asserting it linked to right here.

[laklak]

Green, eh? OK, what's green and smells like bacon?

Kermit's middle finger.

[PsychoSerenity]

The Green party aren't perfect but they're the most democratic party in England with members deciding on policies, and a principle of making those policies evidence-based as far as possible, and publicly publishing the polices so everyone can see what they stand for, - they've got reams of it here. They also have a pretty solid philosophical basis for fair social needs and ecological needs, - ultimately everything comes back to the concept of sustainability. There are still a number of loveable ageing hippies in the party but I think the realities of more efficient high-tech solutions won through more than a decade ago. From economics, and robotics to social development - the party is more futurist than anything else. They're the only party focusing on ensuring there is a future.

But frankly, while I admire the efforts of everyone supporting the Green party (and I've done my share at times), I'm pretty sick of politics in general. It's so full of people who either don't have a clue what they're talking about or are happy to lie for their own ends. It's difficult to find the energy to keep fighting the good fight.

[mistermack]

Fuck the greens.

You can cut down on emissions, by cutting down on people. What's the point of wind turbines, when you gain a third of a million extra population every year?

Fuck em all and vote UKIP.

[PsychoSerenity]

Case in point.

[pErvinalia]

Yeah.

[Alan B]

The Green Party 2017 Manifesto .pdf
The Economy.

The Green Party believes that our
economy should be innovative,
collaborative, forward facing and for
the benefit of communities and the
environment.
The economy is all of us: our work, our
creativity, what we buy, how we spend
our time. It should allow us to lead happy
and fulfilled lives. A Green economy
would replace the exploitation of people
and resources with decent, meaningful
work. It would create over 1 million
jobs through our programme of green
investment and restoring the public
sector.
Our policies:

Take steps towards the introduction
of a universal basic income, including
a government sponsored pilot
scheme, as a means to increase
security and avoid the poverty trap.

Phase in a 4 day working week (a
maximum of 35 hours) and abolish
exploitative zero hours contracts.

Reduce the gap between the highest
and lowest paid, and increase the
minimum wage to reach a genuine
living wage of £10 an hour by 2020.

End the gender pay gap, and require
a minimum 40% of all members of
public company and public sector
boards to be women.

Use the government-owned Royal
Bank of Scotland to create a network
of local people’s banks for every city
and region, obliged to lend locally
and provide cheap basic banking
services.

Ensure that everyone pays their
fair share of tax and there is a
crackdown on tax dodging.

Reform taxation to include a wealth
tax on the top 1% of earners,
investing in more staff at HMRC
so they can work more effectively,
and reinstate the higher level of
corporation tax for large businesses.

A Robin Hood tax on high value
transactions in the finance sector,
and inheritance taxed according to
the wealth of the recipient.

A phased in abolition of the cap on
employees’ national insurance so
that the wealthiest pay more.

Support and promote small
businesses, co-operatives and
mutuals, and the roll out of high
speed broadband.

Support start-ups and creative
enterprises through community credit
and green investment, to provide
opportunities for young people to be
creative and innovative.

Other sections: Environment; The EU; NHS & Public Services; Education; Young People Promise; Housing; A Safer World; PR voting; Transport.
Looks interesting. I'll read it more thoroughly later. I might even turn Green...

Lots of sensible promises - but the 'devil is in the detail'.

[pErvinalia]

They want us to go back and live in caves!

[Alan B]

They want us to go back and live in caves!

Centrally heated caves - powered by a bleeding great windmill...

[pErvinalia]

Caves make sense in some parts of the world, like Cappadocia and Coober Pedy. And Svarty's town...

[laklak]

As long as it's a Man Cave I'm down with it. None of those pansy-ass Woman Caves, though.

[pErvinalia]

Sorry, Scot Dutchy doesn't like man caves..

[PsychoSerenity]

Lots of sensible promises - but the 'devil is in the detail'.

It does seem light on details this year if that's all they're putting out, more like the mini-manifesto of 2015 linked to in the OP. I don't know if that's intentional - because nobody's going to read all the details anyway and most of the other parties don't bother either - or if it's because with a snap election they thought it was better to get something out with a broad picture and easily digestible pledges rather than wasting time on the details. Either way, if you want lots of details a lot will still be pretty much the same as 2015 - here's their full 80+ page with all the details and financial appendix manifesto from 2015.

[Alan B]

I hadn't looked at their 2015 one. That's a much better effort but as you suggested the 2017 one could be just a 'repeat'. Not much will have changed in the last two years, I suspect.

[JimC]

Myself, I would want a green party with a main focus on environmental issues, and less on new age far-left fantasies...