*
Thanet will be a thriving
place where everyone has the chance to enjoy the security of a living wage,
decent affordable homes, excellent public services and a good quality of life
* Thanet
Council will be open and inclusive,
involving local community groups wherever possible, so that people feel they are part of transparent local
decision making processes
* Our beautiful
local environment will be respected, enhanced and protected
* Thanet will be a
place where people want to work and bring up their families and which is
attractive to visitors.
Why Vote Green?
The Greens are a rapidly
growing force in politics. With over 60,000 members, we are probably now the
third largest party in England, and attract more young members than any other
party. The UK is, by any measure, one of the world’s richest countries. Unemployment, low pay, limited housing, scarce school places and strains on the health service are the results of political and financial choices made by successive Governments. It’s time for change.
A Green vote is a choice for a better and fairer
Thanet. The Greens are fully committed to an economy where everyone has living
wages, decent homes and jobs and a secure future in protected surroundings. The
Greens offer a vision for a better, fairer, sustainable future.
We
will campaign in Thanet to:
In all cases we will stress the need for ‘green
industries,’ whether by extending solar energy initiatives or in ensuring new
builds are environmentally sound and sustainable. Thus new jobs will go along
with lower carbon emissions and protecting our environment.
Rail travel in Britain is amongst the most
expensive in Europe, despite massive subsidies from our taxes to private rail
companies. The Green Party calls for re-nationalisation of the railways to benefit
rail passengers rather than shareholders. We welcome plans to reduce rail
journey times from London to an hour or less, which would be a major boost to
our economy - but oppose the expensive, unnecessary and environmentally
damaging plans for a £14 million Parkway station.
We will promote solar, rainwater re-use and insulation technologies and eco-building techniques on all new buildings. We will help the Council review and improve its refuse and recycling service.
incompetence and secrecy. The independent members of
its own standards committee reported: 'The Council has the
appearance of a dysfunctional organisation whose behaviour and internal
squabbles adversely affect the delivery of services, capital projects etc. to
the residents of the local district.'
We would also then review the roles of Parish and Town Councils, looking at the possibility of devolving more decision making and spending powers to these very local democratically elected bodies. We believe that the best decision making is local decision making.
·
Ensure the Council pays the Living
Wage to its own staff and expects the
same of contractors
·
Create an open, transparent,
bottom-up Thanet regeneration group including local businesses, educators and
voluntary bodies to plan for economic growth
·
Replace the current unfair and
divisive school system with properly
funded high quality comprehensive schools under the control of democratically
elected local authorities
·
Build
more council and housing association homes at affordable rents, and enforce
current powers to improve the position of those in private rented accommodation
·
Improve bus services with concessions for all
those unable to pay full fares, introduce concessionary rail fares for people
commuting to work or study, and pilot 20 mph safe zones near schools and in
densely populated residential areas
·
Replace
Thanet Council's cabinet system with a more democratic committee system, create
a new unitary authority to replace Kent County Council and devolve as much
power as possible to town and parish councils and local community groups
For more details on our policies and
plans, read on…
After years of neglect, Thanet now has huge potential
to re-launch itself as a modern visitor destination, using modern
communications and infrastructure to develop 21st century industries.
We will develop a visitor plan to promote and
safeguard our seafronts, heritage and countryside. We will support the
development of leisure-based business including hotels, B&Bs, restaurants,
cafes and bars, and the jobs that go with them. We will review Ramsgate Port
and Harbour, transforming the port into a leisure-focused modern marina.
We will work closely with the Discovery Park and former
Manston Airport site owners to bring new industries and jobs to Thanet. We will
lobby to extend the Enterprise Zone to cover Thanet's designated employment
sites and the airport to encourage investment.
Thanet is home to a diverse and growing creative
community. Green Councillors will work more closely with local artists, musicians,
film-makers, and digital media professionals in developing the creative
sector. Help will be given in providing
workspace, and supporting events and festivals to attract visitors, create jobs
and increase business opportunities.
In all cases we will stress the need for ‘green
industries,’ whether by extending solar energy initiatives or in ensuring new
builds are environmentally sound and sustainable. Thus new jobs will go along
with lower carbon emissions and protecting our environment.
We believe Thanet needs a new regeneration group
that meets in public and involves local Councillors and employers, College and
training providers, community groups and charities. We believe in developing
plans and policies from the bottom up rather than the top down.
The Green Party supports the Living Wage. Our Councillors
will campaign for all Thanet employers to pay the living wage, setting an
example by ensuring that TDC pays the living ages and commits to avoid using
zero hours contracts. In its external contracting, a Green Council will endeavour
to ensure that those who provide it with goods and services also pay the living
wage.
Health and
Welfare
We oppose further NHS privatisation and advocate
increased funding. We will work with health professionals and patients’ groups
to tackle the massive health inequalities between Thanet and the rest of the
Kent, and campaign for extra funds to tackle this injustice.
Green Councillors will work with the Thanet
Clinical Commissioning Group to ensure GP and primary care services meet
people’s needs. We are pleased to see the progress made through the hard work
of staff and volunteers at the QEQM Hospital, and will work with the Trust to help
the hospital continue to improve and come out of special measures.
We will promote life-long health, fitness and enjoyment of the outdoors
in our lovely area, to improve our quality of life and relieve pressure on our
health services. We recognise the vital work of the many local groups that
promote health, fitness and wellbeing, protect our environment and provide
support and friendship for vulnerable people of all ages.
Housing
Thanet faces a housing crisis. Homelessness and
inappropriate multiple occupation are increasing. House prices are not high by
national standards, but buying a house remains out of the reach of many people
living in what remains a low-wage economy. Yet private rents are spiralling
while there is not enough affordable social housing to meet demand.
We will fight for investment in more high-quality Council
homes for rent, and work with Housing Associations to provide more social
housing in Thanet. We will press the Council to use its powers to bring
long-term empty properties back into use, to ensure new private housing
developments include at least 30% social rented housing and to encourage
private landlords to provide safe, high quality homes at affordable rents.
We are committed to developing policies which will ensure that all new
housing is built to the highest ecological standards, including solar and rain
water re-use technologies and that building takes place on previously used
‘brownfield’ sites, not on our green spaces. We will also support self-build
and housing cooperatives to develop and flourish in Thanet.
Transport and
Environment
Rail travel in Britain is amongst the most
expensive in Europe, despite massive subsidies from our taxes to private rail
companies. The Green Party calls for re-nationalisation of the railways to benefit
rail passengers rather than shareholders. We welcome plans to reduce rail
journey times from London to an hour or less, which would be a major boost to
our economy - but oppose the expensive, unnecessary and environmentally
damaging plans for a £14 million Parkway station.
We will argue for investment in bus services,
including new shuttle services and park-and-ride schemes at strategic locations
across Thanet, to reduce accidents, pollution and traffic jams. We will lobby
Kent County Council to reinstate the Young Person’s Freedom Pass.
We support 20mph limits around schools and would work
with residents to pilot 20mph Home Zone and residents' parking schemes in residential
areas to evaluate their success. We will press the Council to examine
affordable cycle hire schemes and promote walking.
Our Councillors will protect Thanet’s environment
by resisting development on our green field sites and agricultural land, and
opposing any industrial, commercial and housing plans which risk polluting and
despoiling our area. We will work with Southern Water and the Environment
Agency to ensure no more raw sewage is dumped on our lovely beaches.
We will promote solar, rainwater re-use and insulation technologies and eco-building techniques on all new buildings. We will help the Council review and improve its refuse and recycling service.
Thanet Greens support animal welfare. We will do
all we can to stop the cruel export of live farm animals from the Port of
Ramsgate, and work with Government Agencies, Kent County Council and the RSPCA
to ensure welfare checks are of the highest standard.
Education and
Training
We believe early years education should be free to give children the
best start in life.
School education should promote equality,
inclusiveness, curiosity, wellbeing and responsibility. Research shows pupils do
best in mixed-ability environments with low student-teacher ratios. We oppose separating
children on the basis of one exam at 11 and funding grammar schools better than
others. Exam results in Thanet non-selective schools are poor, so many of our young
people are not getting the best start in life.
We would overhaul the system to address this.
We believe in lifelong learning and a system that offers people the
chance to learn throughout life. In Thanet we have an excellent FE College and
training providers, who must be closely involved in planning for the area’s regeneration,
to help both young people and adults improve their skills and gain more secure
and better paid jobs. We believe that education at all levels should be free
and that young people should not be burdened with debt before they even start
their working life.
Kent County Council
Thanet Green Party believes that KCC is too
distant from Thanet and does not have the local knowledge and understanding to
tackle local issues effectively. We will campaign to set up a Unitary Council,
perhaps in conjunction with neighbouring District Councils, to cover the
functions currently carried out by KCC, including education, youth work, social
services, highways and public health as well as those currently falling to
District Councils.
Thanet District Council
The existing Thanet District Council has an
appalling reputation for
We would begin to tackle this by abolishing the
current Cabinet system where a few Councillors take 95% of decisions, replacing
it with a committee system with decisions taken by cross-party groups of
Councillors, who can co-opt members of the public with specialist skills and
knowledge where needed. All committee meetings would be filmed and broadcast
live on social media. We would review the Council’s secrecy rules, making
information available to promote openness and transparency. We would review Thanet’s
flawed public consultation processes and give residents more influence in policy
making.
Town and Parish Councils
We would also then review the roles of Parish and Town Councils, looking at the possibility of devolving more decision making and spending powers to these very local democratically elected bodies. We believe that the best decision making is local decision making.
Who will pay?
Our proposals and suggestions for improved policies and services have a
price tag, and so prompt the question 'how would all of this be paid for?'
In one of the richest countries in the world,
austerity policies are not inevitable: they are a political choice. Just a few
ways in which the riches and talents of the British people can be released to
restore full employment and a properly funded welfare system would be:
· Taxing corporations in the UK on all of the revenue raised in the UK
· Repatriating the vast assets, counted in trillions of pounds, held by
UK based companies and individuals in foreign tax havens
· Not renewing the Trident missile system at a saving of between £31 and
£41 billion
· Ensuring that employers pay a living wage, so removing millions of
working people from the welfare budget (and turning them from benefit
recipients into tax payers.)
·
Extending the
principle of 'the polluter pays' (- the new charge for plastic bags is a small token
example -) to make the producers of mess large and small - McDonalds, the local
chip shop, Southern Water - pay for
cleaning up our sadly degraded environment.
Locally our Councillors will lobby Government to
significantly increase its support for Thanet Council: why should one of the
most deprived areas of the country have one of the lowest levels of Government
financial support? We will raise extra funding for services by attracting new
business into the area, maximising income from non-domestic rates.
We will seek government support to replace the
millions of pounds lost by Thanet District Council through incompetence and
mismanagement in recent years.
We will explore entering commercial relationships
with private companies to generate new forms of income. Our Councillors will
identify and help secure more Government and European grant aid to support the
Council’s work. They will review the Council's borrowing and establish new
priorities based on meeting pressing social need. We do not rule out an
increase in Council Tax, but will support a residents’ referendum if an
increase is proposed.
Fairness, jobs and quality of life are worth
fighting for
