Being A "One Issue" Party
It's the biggest perception that the Green Party needs to overcome to make Britain a four-party system.
We are a party that will put the environment first. Other parties (the Lib Dems, Labour, the Conservatives) will put profit and private interests first.
Ecology and sustainability are the guiding principles by which Greens make policy decisions.
But, we do have a constellation of other policies:
i) same-sex rights: I lived in Bonn from September 1998 to August 1999, and I arrived in the city in the midst of a national election campaign. Gerhard Schroeder was about to become Chancellor for the first time, Helmut Kohl came to give one of his final campaign speeches on the Marketplatz in Bonn, it was a great time to arrive. The German Green Party posters had same-sex couples doing the tango, and their poster slogan was, "We Bring Spice to the Dance."
ii) the euro: The euro represents a centralisation of economic controls. The Green Party believes that economic decisions should be made at a local level. We don't want monetarist decisions in the hands of unaccountable bankers. People should elect those who raise taxes and set interest rates.
iii) pensions: The spring Green Party conference voted to promote party support for the nine trade unions that voted to strike to protect the local government pension scheme for existing members.
iv) crime: again, our conferences have called for a ban on imitation weapons, and we strongly support more vigorous efforts to prosecute rape.
v) anti-war, pro-peace: As part of a 4-week radio license, I did an interview with Carol Rank of Coventry University's Peace and Reconciliation Department. One thing she highlighted was a need for more secondary school projects on conflict resolution: teaching youth how to solve problems and work together, not resorting to fist-fights or using knives. The Green Party has been part of the Stop The War Coalition, and we are against any future military adventure/strikes on Iran. It's madness that the US spends $400 billion a year on its military (when they are only 5% of the world's population). We also need an international treaty on the sale of light weapons (machine guns), similar to the campaign for the treaty on landmines.
We are a party that will put the environment first. Other parties (the Lib Dems, Labour, the Conservatives) will put profit and private interests first.
Ecology and sustainability are the guiding principles by which Greens make policy decisions.
But, we do have a constellation of other policies:
i) same-sex rights: I lived in Bonn from September 1998 to August 1999, and I arrived in the city in the midst of a national election campaign. Gerhard Schroeder was about to become Chancellor for the first time, Helmut Kohl came to give one of his final campaign speeches on the Marketplatz in Bonn, it was a great time to arrive. The German Green Party posters had same-sex couples doing the tango, and their poster slogan was, "We Bring Spice to the Dance."
ii) the euro: The euro represents a centralisation of economic controls. The Green Party believes that economic decisions should be made at a local level. We don't want monetarist decisions in the hands of unaccountable bankers. People should elect those who raise taxes and set interest rates.
iii) pensions: The spring Green Party conference voted to promote party support for the nine trade unions that voted to strike to protect the local government pension scheme for existing members.
iv) crime: again, our conferences have called for a ban on imitation weapons, and we strongly support more vigorous efforts to prosecute rape.
v) anti-war, pro-peace: As part of a 4-week radio license, I did an interview with Carol Rank of Coventry University's Peace and Reconciliation Department. One thing she highlighted was a need for more secondary school projects on conflict resolution: teaching youth how to solve problems and work together, not resorting to fist-fights or using knives. The Green Party has been part of the Stop The War Coalition, and we are against any future military adventure/strikes on Iran. It's madness that the US spends $400 billion a year on its military (when they are only 5% of the world's population). We also need an international treaty on the sale of light weapons (machine guns), similar to the campaign for the treaty on landmines.
posted by scott redding at 8:40 pm
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