In politics, as in sport and Eurovision, we all like to fit the facts to our pre-conceived ideas. Tribes and factions interpret results as a vindication of their point of view.
Author: <span>tomchance</span>
At our spring conference, the Green Party adopted a completely new set of housing and planning policies. These set out our big vision, and provide our politicians and manifesto authors with a starting point.
I’ve picked out five that I particularly like.
In three and a half years, my local shopping parade has gained an Italian restaurant, a Persian cafe, a fancy wine shop, a retro furniture shop-cum-cafe, and most recently a microbrewery pop-up bar.
I love them, and the transition town market up the hill, and all the other nice changes to my new area. I am part of the gentrifying forces that are pricing me out of the area.
As the election for the Mayor of London next year looms on the horizon, candidates are pledging to build more homes in the capital. But targets are no use to anybody unless they are backed up with a credible plan, and in London the biggest challenge is that the housing market is broken, dysfunctional, pining for the fjords.
A quick look at home insulation tells us the ‘rich white men’ analysis can be a dead end for the Green movement.
Every so often I get a call from an estate agent. They aren’t looking to sell my home, but let it out. London is a rentier economy, and so rent controls are bitterly resisted.
What would you do with the money if you saved £1,100 on your energy bill? That question led me on a journey that completely changed the way I approached climate change policy.
I dealt with boredom and unhappiness in my A-levels by playing with computers and algorithms.
I’m pleased to back most of the ‘10 by 2020‘ Mayoral Safer Cycling Challenge, published yesterday by Stop Killing Cyclists.
The Green Party’s manifesto and key issues for next year’s elections aren’t in the gift of Mayoral candidates, so why develop and push ideas in the selection process?