Youth & Education ... Environment: * Create a massive shift to sustainable energy. * Ban fracking. * Localise the fo
So, what is Generation Vote Green and what is the Youth Manifesto?
Generation Vote Green is about empowering
Green Party policies, as well as information
young people and students to take an active
on the Young Greens activities to get young
role in shaping their future. The Green Party
people engaged in politics. If you want to
offer an alternative plan for society, based on
find out more you can read all the Green
the common good.
Party's policies at policy.greenparty.org.uk
The politics of the future doesn’t have to
Young people directly shape Green Party
look like the politics of the past. The Youth
policy, as a result we have arguably the most
Manifesto is a selection of youth related
progressive and inclusive policies, such as:
Youth & Education
Jobs & Welfare
Housing:
* Free education
* Raise the minimum wage to £10 by 2020
* Supply 500,000 more social rented houses
* Increase spending on youth services
* More training for young unemployed
by 2020
* Stop the spread of academies and free
people
* End the Right to Buy and introduce a Right
schools
* No to workfare, yes to workplace
to Rent
democracy
* More rights for people suffering from
Democracy & Rights:
homelessness
* Introduce proportional representation and
Economy & Society
votes at 16
* Protect public services
* Support LGBTIQ+ movements
* Invest in a green future
Climate Change & the Environment:
* Reject immigrant bashing
* Promote fairer taxes
* Create a massive shift to sustainable energy * Ban fracking * Localise the food chain
We organise within and beyond the Green Party to empower our members to work for lasting political change. Young Greens seek to combine principled actions and campaigning within our communities with electoral politics. We want to harness the energy and ideas of young people and students, moving society
If you’re a member of the Green Party and under 30 or a student in full-time education, you are automatically a member of the Young Greens.
towards a sustainable and just future.
The Committee
Young Greens are the youth and student branch of the Green Party.
“Because th e Greens ch allenge ine They stand quality. for real (for the good of e v e ry one) not false prom ises (for th e gain of a few).”
“Because I want to cre ate a world community where is more imp ortant than greed. ”
“Because I want to see migration s a fair and h ystem that umane doesn’t bre ak up famil ies.”
“Because e
conomic gro wth is a de ad end. The greens present the only way ou t.”
“Because I
believe poli ticians sho people, not uld work fo for big bus r iness or pe rsonal gain I still believ . e true dem ocracy is p ossible.”
“Because w e need to b attle the re Britain: ine al threats to quality, gre ed, and the destruction of the envir onment.”
Education
Youth Services
We believe in free education for all and we
businesses and private interests shouldn’t
Over 350 youth centres have been closed in
would abolish student tuition fees in Higher
have that much influence on our schools.
the UK since 2010. We would create 2,000
Education, re-introducing living grants to
Teachers and educational staff should get
Young People’s Centres, dedicated spaces
support time at University.
comprehensive training on all diversity and
for young people to meet and to access
inclusion issues.
information and specialist support.
the Student Loans Company and held by the
We would provide mandatory sex education
We would increase the spending on youth
government, removing the burden of debt
that is LGBTIQ-inclusive, and introduce
services by over £1bn each year, protecting
from a generation of students.
equality and diversity lessons mandatory in
funding for youth councils, youth clubs and
all schools.
non-curricular education and training.
maintenance allowance (EMA) for 16 and
Schools should promote equal opportunities
We would entitle every young person under
17 year olds and prioritise the increase of
in their anti-bullying procedures and equality
the age of 18 and in full time education to
funding for Further Education.
issues should be monitored in teaching
free off-peak bus fares.
We would cancel all student debt issued by
We would restore the educational
We need more investment in young people’s education and youth services.
recruitment. We would re-integrate academies and free
We would increase funding to mental health
schools into the Local Authority – because
provision and ensure that every young person should have 24 hours a day, 7 days a week access to support services.
Democracy
Respect and LGBTIQ+
International
We would introduce proportional
We call for an end to discrimination and we will
We reject the use of immigration as a
representation, including for the House of
defend the rights of the oppressed. We will work to
political issue to mask problems such as a
Lords, to help fix our unfair electoral system,
ensure respect for everyone whatever their ethnicity,
lack of high- quality social housing and jobs.
hold people to account, and make sure that
gender, age, religious belief or non- belief, sexual
We need to invest in housing, our economy
every vote counts.
orientation, class, size, disability or other status.
and society by using fair taxation to provide
We would introduce the right to vote at
We will campaign for homophobic and
16 because we believe that young people
transphobic crimes as well as crimes
We commit to the freedom of movement
should have a say, as proven by the Scottish
against disabled people, including people
across the EU regardless of numbers and/
Independence Referendum in 2014.
with learning difficulties, to be dealt with
or country of origin. We would ensure
effectively and on a par with racist crimes.
that no prospective immigrant is held in
decent homes and employment for all.
We believe that issues should be decided at
We need to build a fair democracy and respect everyone for who they are.
detention, and as a matter of urgency, the
a local level whenever possible. We would
We would seek to end the oppression of women
administrative detention of children and
decentralise and localise, putting power back
through measures such as quotas for women
pregnant women should cease immediately.
in the hands of people.
on executive boards, anonymised CVs, and the
We would revive local government through
incorporation of a gender impact assessment
We would remove any restrictions on
into all trade policy making and policy reviews.
international students in the UK, including
grassroots democracy and the use of smaller
re-introducing the post-study work visa.
community and district councils with
The Greens support the human rights
enhanced powers including new tax-raising
struggles of LGBTIQ+ movements in oppressive
We need more and better aid. We will exceed
powers.
states such as Jamaica, Iran, Uganda, Malawi,
the UN’s 0.7% target and allocate at least
Iraq, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Russia.
1% of UK Gross National Product for aid. Aid should be targeted for the poorest, not
We would push for the rewriting of the Mental
involve economic policy conditions, respect
Health Act to remove trans people from the
gender equality, and not be diverted to
Psychiatric Disorder Register.
equipping security forces.
Better work
Living Wage & Fair Pay
Job training
We reject workfare and forcing unemployed
Living Wage We will increase the minimum
We would offer Green workforce training and
people into unsuitable jobs by threatening to
wage so that it is a living wage. We propose
an environmental community programme,
remove benefits.
a minimum wage target for everyone who is
including training courses for jobs in energy
working in the UK, regardless of age of £10
conservation and renewable energy.
We will end zero hours contracts.
per hour by 2020.
We support moves towards workplace
We would work towards fair pay ratios,
and offering opportunities to unemployed
democracy, through encouragement of
ensuring that the maximum wage in any
people, in particular the young.
individual’s membership to democratic Trade
organisation is no more than ten times the
Unions and worker co-operatives having a
minimum wage in that organisation.
We would invest in creating training places
greater role within our society. The Young Greens have been campaigning to get more young people connected to
We need to protect the growing numbers of young people looking for work or in low paid jobs.
democratic Trade Unions through our GET ORGANISED! Campaign. For more details please see: younggreens.org.uk/campaigns/ getorganised
Public Services
Green investment
Fairer trade and taxes
The Green Party will reverse the trend
We need to invest in the green economy
We support the Robin Hood Tax which is a
towards privatisation of public services and
now and better support institutions like the
package of taxes on financial transactions
utilities.
Green Investment Bank, small credit unions
carried out by businesses and the financial
and community banks that support local
service industry. This will reduce industries
areas and particularly groups.
ability to gamble on short term financial
We will renationalise the railways and keep our NHS free and public. We will invest in
deals and put money back into the economy.
health and education services, to protect the
We would improve and increase Government
poorest and most vulnerable.
support for large-scale wind and other
We support a Wealth Tax on the top 1% on
renewable energy generation, and properly
UK individuals with assets of more than
Key services must be free at the point of
invest in the grid. This would create much
£3million.
delivery so they are open and accessible to
needed sustainable jobs.
all.
Business as usual doesn’t work. We must build a sustainable economy and society, investing in people and public services.
We oppose the Transatlantic Trade This is needed urgently – the private
Investment Partnership (TTIP) which is being
We believe we should pay for these services
sector has simply not put enough money
secretly negotiated by the EU and the US. If
with a taxation system that promotes
into responding to the renewable energy
it comes into existence then Governments
fairness and rewards behaviour that’s good
challenge.
can be sued for protecting environment,
for both society and the environment.
food security and democratic values by refusing trade could be sued for vast sums by industries.
Reinvesting in housing There are 1.8 million people on waiting lists
We would provide more rights for homeless
We would minimise encroachment onto
for social housing. We will supply 500,000
people and halve the one million empty
undeveloped ‘greenfield sites’ by reusing
more social rented houses by 2020.
homes through empty property use orders.
previously developed sites that have fallen
The Greens would end the “right to buy”
Development would be evenly distributed
scheme and introduce the Right to Rent.
across the whole of England & Wales,
People facing severe difficulties with paying
therefore reducing pressure on housing in
their mortgage and facing repossession
the South East in particular. We also support
should have a right to rent their existing
self-build social co-operatives.
into disuse.
home as ‘council housing’.
We need to reinvest in social housing, protect renters from bad landlords, and promote affordability and sustainability.
Climate change
Fairer food
We would increase investment in renewable
We want to localise the food chain, including
energy, aiming to have a renewable energy
assistance for small farms, starting farmers’
system within 15-20 years. We would ensure
markets, farm box schemes and locally
that all schools, hospitals and other public
owned co-ops.
buildings have solar panels by 2020. We believe in phasing out all forms of factory We would discourage use of fossil fuels in
farming of animals, enforcing strict animal
transport by bringing back the fuel duty
welfare standards, and dramatically reducing
escalator, increasing duty in real terms.
the use of pesticides to protect both humans and wildlife.
We will ban hydraulic fracturing (fracking)
Climate change is a demonstration of the catastrophic social and environmental consequences of business as usual. We must protect the environment for future generations.
across the country. We want to increase the
We support GM-free zones and continue
tranquillity of our urban environments, with
to work for a complete ban on genetically
less litter, less noise, reduced light pollution
modified food in Europe.
and more green spaces.
The Youth Branch of The Green Party
020 7549 0309
[email protected] facebook.com/younggreens twitter.com/younggreenparty
