I grew up in a house built on coal.

Full statement

My dad delivered the stuff for much of his working life and soon after leaving school I worked at Bentley pit on the line staff. In my time there I saw how awful the working conditions were – and, as part of the job, visited many horrific accident scenes. I can’t say it was that that made me a green, but thinking about it now, why on earth would you want your kids to work there when there is a cleaner, safer way of producing the energy we all need. I believe the time is right to create a greener, fairer society – a society that’s based on a strong sense of community where no-one is left behind. Too many times the other parties have made pledges before quietly dropping them. So, I know if we’re to achieve the kind of society we all expect to see we need our MPs to show leadership, honesty and integrity. The Green Party plan to ease the housing crisis is to build 150,000 new council homes, end the right to buy scheme, introduce rent controls and end no-fault evictions. We need the right homes to be built, at the right price and in the right place/ The economic and climate crises are both connected. We can make our energy bills cheaper while tackling the environmental crisis by investing in clean sustainable energy and a programme to insulate our homes. This will lead to new jobs, and cheaper heating bills while working toward solving the climate crisis that is leaving communities in our area more vulnerable. With funding through a fairer tax system we can make sure everyone can see an NHS dentist or doctor by getting the absolute richest to pay a bit more and that would raise £50bn while reversing the creeping privatisation of the health service. It's time to bring water companies back into public ownership and end the squandering of public funds, stop the deadly pollution of our waterways and ensure people can enjoy our rivers and beaches without the fear of getting sick. Following the Green Party’s incredible successes in May’s local elections we are standing candidates in virtually every seat across England and Wales and that will mean everyone across the country will have the chance to choose real hope, real change and vote Green.