General Election Analysis: Green Party of England & Wales

BASW UK Public & Political Affairs Lead, Kerri Prince examines the Green Party's manifesto for England and Wales, finding out what they're hoping to deliver in the next parliament.

Green Party Manifesto

The Green Party frequently wins one parliamentary seat at a General Election - Brighton Pavilion. But this election it is anticipated that the Greens might win a few more seats, which could give them a bit more influence in the House of Commons.

Taxes and benefits

While the financial plans of smaller parties aren’t as heavily scrutinised as larger parties, it is still important to look at where the money for plans would come from. To raise money needed to fund their plans, the Greens would bring in a carbon tax, a 1% annual wealth tax on assets above £10m, reform of capital gains tax, and remove the upper earning limit that restricts the amount of national insurance paid by high earners. The Green Party have said that they are prepared to borrow to invest.

On benefits, they would restore the value of disability benefits with an immediate uplift of 5%, increase Universal Credit and legacy benefits by £40 a week, abolish the two-child benefit cap, end the ‘bedroom tax’, and look to introduce a universal basic income in the long term.

Social care

The Green Party would invest £20bn in social care in England to introduce free personal care similar to what exists in Scotland, and increase pay rates for carers to rebuild the care workforce.

On children’s social care, the Greens would also push for an additional £3bn to enable local authorities in England to provide high-quality children’s social care.

The Greens explicitly criticise consecutive conservative governments for ‘undermining the limited progress made by disabled people to live dignified lives as valued members of society.’ They outline a series of policies to support disabled people, including:

Restore the value of disability benefits with an immediate uplift of 5%.
End the unfair targeting of carers and disabled people on benefits.
Oppose plans to replace Personal Independence Payments (PIP) cash payments with ‘vouchers’, and in the long term reform intrusive eligibility tests like PIP.
Make it mandatory for councils to provide free transport for 16–18-year-old pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disability.
Ensure disabled workers have the in-job support they need, as well as proper pay and conditions.
Champion the right to inclusive welfare support, and housing under the principles of universal design.

Housing

The Greens put a lot of attention in their manifesto into addressing the national housing crisis. They say that just building more unaffordable houses isn’t the answer, but rather building more affordable homes built to the right standards and in flourishing communities.

Provide 150,000 new social homes a year and end the so-called ‘right to buy’, so that these homes can belong to communities for ever.
Empower local authorities to introduce rent controls.
End no-fault evictions.
Introduce a Fairer, Greener Homes Guarantee to ensure warm, safe homes that are well insulated.
Transform the planning system so new developments come with access to public services and green spaces are protected

Social Security

The Greens say that with the right political choices, everyone can live in a country where they are treated with dignity. They want to end benefit sanctions and challenge ‘punitive approaches’ to welfare claimants, so that everyone can access extra help if they need it.

Increase Universal Credit and legacy benefits by £40 a week.
End the five-week wait for benefits.
Abolish the two-child benefit cap and lift 250,000 children out of poverty.
Increase all disability benefits by 5%.
Ensure that pensions are always uprated in line with inflation and keep pace with wage rises across the economy.
Increase carer’s allowance by at least 10% a month.
Scrap the bedroom tax

They also highlight measures such as free home insulation and subsidised public transport as support for people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

Interestingly, they also advocate for longer term reform of our tax and social security system to introduce a Universal Basic Income. However, they acknowledge that this is the work of more than one parliament to achieve.

Asylum & Immigration

The Greens say they want to end the hostile environment around immigrants and asylum seekers, instead advocating for a UK that is welcoming, promotes social cohesion and supports migrants.

They would campaign to abolish the No Recourse to Public Funds condition and the ten-year route to settlement. They want to see a fast and fair process to assess asylum applications and allow those seeking asylum and protection to be permitted to work while their application is being decided. They also want an end to the minimum income requirements for spouses of those holding work visas and more safe routes to sanctuary established.

Sustainability

Unsurprisingly, the environment features heavily through the Green Party manifesto. On nature specifically, they advocate for legal protection for the natural world through a new Rights of Nature Act.

They also want to introduce a Clean Air Act, which will set new air quality standards for the UK and enshrine the right to breathe clean air in the law. And they would push for a Right to Roam Act for England based on the model in Scotland which gives people the right to access green space close to where they live.

The Greens say they will campaign to ensure that everybody lives within 15 minutes’ walking distance of a nature-rich greenspace. They say they will ensure car-free access to the National Parks with new cycling, walking, wheeling and bus links and introduce nature to urban environments by investing in schemes such as street planting of native trees.

What else are the Greens saying?

On mental health, they would push for a legal framework that supports the right of individuals struggling with their mental health, increasing funding so that mental health is prioritised in the same way as physical health, have a trained and paid counsellor in every school and sixth form college, evidence based mental health therapies accessible to everyone within 28 days including tailored and specific provision for the needs of ethnic minorities, children and adolescents, older people, and LGBTIQA communities, as well as provision for neurodivergent and SEND children.

The Greens put forward a proposal for a ‘Fair Politics Act’ which, among other measures, would repeal the need for voter ID, lower the voting age to 16, introduce a proportional representation voting system and strengthen transparency rules on political lobbying.

They want an evidence-based approach to reform of the UK’s drug laws, which includes decriminalising personal possession of drugs. They also want to go beyond restoring international aid to 0.7% of GNI, raising this to 1% by 2033.

The Greens have also promised to support a change in law to legalise assisted dying for people suffering from terminal diseases if it is their clear and settled will. They also say that proper safeguards would need to be in place, but don’t outline what these safeguards would be.

You can read the full Green Party manifesto here.