The Greens are accused of being too idealistic a party for middle class hippies who have the luxury of caring about animals and flowers! For me, this is in fact the opposite of what the party stands for. I myself came to the Green party through being a feminist, a socialist, an equalist and just through general anger about the current system. I am not a pet owner, I am allergic to most trees flowers and grass and that’s why I live in London far away from nature! I do however live close to poverty and inequality and have realised that caring about animals and flowers is not a luxury of the well off but a necessity for all. Climate change will hit the poorest hardest worsening poverty and inequality. It’s not a matter of saving the environment for the sake of it, it is saving the environment for us the people. This, I have come to realise, is the basis of the Green ideology. We need to eradicate suffering and oppression and maintaining the environment is key to that fight. And if you look at Green party policy you will see that it is predominantly designed to make the lives the working class and the poorest people better.
What we stand for:
In short the key campaigns of the the Green party are:
If you want to know more about policy in detail go to the party website (https://www.greenparty.org.uk/we-stand-for/)
If you’d like to see more personal reasons why other students and young people are voting green the follow our #generationvotegreen campaign on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/younggreens) and twitter (https://twitter.com/YoungGreenParty)
The real opposition to the right is Green:
The Green party works for the common good. This ultimately makes them the best alternative to the current system which is run for the 1%. Whilst Labour opposes itself to the right in the media they voted with the conservatives for huge local service cuts, for austerity and let’s not forget who first introduced tuition fees… yes it was Labour! They have also joined the race to the bottom with UKIP on Immigration and scapegoating those on benefits. Natalie bennett has many times said “Benefits should be given to those who need them. And they should be given gladly not made to feel like it’s charity” whereas Labour’s Rachel Reeves was recently quoted as saying “We are not the party of people on benefits. We don’t want to be seen, and we're not, the party to represent those who are out of work." It is these differences that lead me to believe that the Greens are the only major party truly committed to becoming a human caring society that represents everyone.
If you’re not convinced or still unsure go to vote for policies (https://voteforpolicies.org.uk/) and find out from a non-bias source who you are most politically aligned with.
A note on tactical voting and not voting-
Did you vote Lib Dem in the last election to keep a Tory out? Do you regret that?
This section is more for the green leaning amongst you as I imagine most of those set on voting for one of the right wing parties have already stopped reading!
Tactical voting doesn’t work to secure a representative government. It is the reason Labour have moved right because they are chasing the centre vote. In many respects voting Labour to keep a Tory out is just installing a Tory dressed as Labour. On the flip side even if the Greens are not going to win that seat increased support for the Greens puts pressure on the other parties to pursue green policy so the overall effect of voting green is that there are more likely to be policies you believe in on the cards.
Votes for the Greens supports the Greens financially. Central government gives funding to the political parties proportional to the number of votes in the election. This money can make a real difference to a party like the Greens who have much less funding and less rich individuals who donate and no oil companies or weapons manufacturers knocking at their door with cash and an agenda!
Not voting is saying you are okay with the way things are. It is not a neutral act.
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” – Desmond Tutu
If the end game is just the colour of the party in government then vote Labour but if the end game is the policy which the party of government implements then vote for what you actually believe in…. vote Green!
By: Anna Jordan, Life long Political activist- KCL Green Soc officer- @annajordanahj
This article is part of our 'Why Vote...' series. Write an article in support of your political party! Find out more here.
What we stand for:
In short the key campaigns of the the Green party are:
- Free education- quality education and scrapping tuition fees
- Decent homes- secure affordable housing.
- Better transport- Publicly owned affordable transport.
- A public NHS.
- Safe climate- affordable energy and fossil free.
- A fair economy.
If you want to know more about policy in detail go to the party website (https://www.greenparty.org.uk/we-stand-for/)
If you’d like to see more personal reasons why other students and young people are voting green the follow our #generationvotegreen campaign on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/younggreens) and twitter (https://twitter.com/YoungGreenParty)
The real opposition to the right is Green:
The Green party works for the common good. This ultimately makes them the best alternative to the current system which is run for the 1%. Whilst Labour opposes itself to the right in the media they voted with the conservatives for huge local service cuts, for austerity and let’s not forget who first introduced tuition fees… yes it was Labour! They have also joined the race to the bottom with UKIP on Immigration and scapegoating those on benefits. Natalie bennett has many times said “Benefits should be given to those who need them. And they should be given gladly not made to feel like it’s charity” whereas Labour’s Rachel Reeves was recently quoted as saying “We are not the party of people on benefits. We don’t want to be seen, and we're not, the party to represent those who are out of work." It is these differences that lead me to believe that the Greens are the only major party truly committed to becoming a human caring society that represents everyone.
If you’re not convinced or still unsure go to vote for policies (https://voteforpolicies.org.uk/) and find out from a non-bias source who you are most politically aligned with.
A note on tactical voting and not voting-
Did you vote Lib Dem in the last election to keep a Tory out? Do you regret that?
This section is more for the green leaning amongst you as I imagine most of those set on voting for one of the right wing parties have already stopped reading!
Tactical voting doesn’t work to secure a representative government. It is the reason Labour have moved right because they are chasing the centre vote. In many respects voting Labour to keep a Tory out is just installing a Tory dressed as Labour. On the flip side even if the Greens are not going to win that seat increased support for the Greens puts pressure on the other parties to pursue green policy so the overall effect of voting green is that there are more likely to be policies you believe in on the cards.
Votes for the Greens supports the Greens financially. Central government gives funding to the political parties proportional to the number of votes in the election. This money can make a real difference to a party like the Greens who have much less funding and less rich individuals who donate and no oil companies or weapons manufacturers knocking at their door with cash and an agenda!
Not voting is saying you are okay with the way things are. It is not a neutral act.
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” – Desmond Tutu
If the end game is just the colour of the party in government then vote Labour but if the end game is the policy which the party of government implements then vote for what you actually believe in…. vote Green!
By: Anna Jordan, Life long Political activist- KCL Green Soc officer- @annajordanahj
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Opinion: Voting Green- the real alternative
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