Guest election blog – Green Party by Indy Kiemel Greene

I am a 19 year old conservationist and naturalist.  I studied Countryside Management at Nottingham Trent University.

This will be my first election where I am eligible to vote. Wildlife and the environment are high on my list of priorities. They will be a contributing factor when I place my vote in the Mansfield constituency.

This is my review and thoughts about the environmental implications of the Green Party of England and Wales election manifesto.

Things I like:

• ‘Bring nature back to life’ is a highlight policy.  We have to take protecting nature seriously and not skirt around the edges. A whole plethora of species are in freefall, on the brink. An enforceable policy designed to protect nature is paramount.
• The Green party wish to take water companies back into public ownership. It could potentially help to reduce and ultimately stop the utter disgrace of the endless sewage dumped into our seas and rivers.  It is mindless vandalism where currently water companies throughout the country are getting away with these criminal acts. 
• The party is keen to end the emergency authorisation of bee killing pesticides (neonicotinoids). The current government has for the fourth year running given emergency approval for this banned pesticide to be used on sugar beet. An utterly deplorable decision.
• A new clean air (human rights) act.  How many thousands of people have health issues related to air pollution. 
• I’m half Dutch and the emphasis the Netherlands place on a safe nationwide cycle path infrastructure is remarkable. The Greens want to also invest in new cycleways and footpaths. Even small steps away from our obsession with our cars would lead to a healthier more active society. 
• I’m rather taken with the party’s desire to ban domestic flights for journeys which would take less than three hours by train. Our sky is littered with such journeys, it just shouldn’t be.
• A new commission on animal protection would seem a significant step forward. The welfare and protection of our wildlife and farm animals needs to be taken far more seriously than it currently is.  
• A desire to offer the highest level of protection to marine life in domestic and overseas territorial water is a no-brainer.
• An end to factory farming, and the routine use of antibiotics on farm animals.  A complete ban on the close confinement in cages. 
• An end to the utterly pointless and heartbreaking badger cull. Over 230,000 slaughtered with hardly any tested for bovine TB.
• Animals cannot protect themselves. The Greens unlike any other political party are pushing hard for animal protection. We are somewhat accomplished at shooting, trapping and poisoning them. Keeping them in vile overcrowded environments. The welfare and protection of our animals cannot be a secondary issue. 
• Farming and food.  ‘Our food system accounts for a third of all greenhouse gas emissions and is the greatest driver of nature loss and pollution in our rivers‘. That is quite a sobering thought. 
• The Greens propose the financial support for farmers to be tripled to support their transition to nature friendly farming. This potentially sounds like a win win for farmers and nature. I also like the idea of farm payments being linked to reduced use of pesticides. 
• Further policies implemented to ensure quality surplus food is not wasted.  I think this is so important, the amount of food waste we are responsible for as a society is truly shocking.
• As a young person I am particularly drawn to the idea that as part of the core curriculum children are involved in growing, preparing and cooking of food. Understanding and valuing the origins and importance of healthy food is such an important life lesson.

Things I don’t like:

The Greens are so committed to green issues that it would seem a little harsh to be too critical. The other major parties, yes I could certainly pull them up on aspects of their environmental policies, or in some cases a complete lack of them. The Green’s focus on radical environmental policies and animal welfare and  protection are light years ahead of any other party contesting the forthcoming election.

• One area however is English right to roam policy. I have always had mixed feelings towards this.  Whilst it’s important for people to have access to green spaces, it is unfortunately not always going to be valued and respected, as I have witnessed first hand myself. In most circumstances in order for nature to flourish it has to be left to do so with as few disturbances as possible. It’s a very difficult act to balance.

Things that appear to be missing:

• The manifesto highlights the importance of offering a high level of protection to marine life, but it doesn’t mention any thoughts towards properly manageing fisheries. With our seabird numbers decreasing rapidly in the last two decades it’s a disappointing omission.
• What does appear to be missing from the Green Party is not so much a particular policy in their manifesto, but real tangible growth. With so many people identifying the climate crisis as a major concern in their thinking you wonder why the Greens do not have far more of a visible uprising in popularity. They are after all the only party focusing so many of its policies on the environment and animal welfare. They have presented some brave, bold and honest policies.
• I believe the Greens are in many people’s minds when it comes to voting, and the party has certainly made headway in recent times, with more people turning to them, but they are far from a driving force. Maybe having two co-leaders is a turn off for some. Often people vote for a charismatic leader more than a parties policies. Nigel Farage is a perfect example of this. I certainly hope the forthcoming election sees a wave of new voters put a X next to the parties name.

 Overall assessment:

As you would expect the Green’s manifesto is very much centred around green issues, obviously far more so than any other political party.  As they state ‘We are part of nature and unless it flourishes we cannot flourish either’.

There was a time when the Green Party was purely just about the environment.  There was little in the way of policies in other aspects of UK life.  Now they are a fully fledged party with a manifesto offering exciting policies in all areas. Of course green issues dominate, and the Greens have some bold striking, thought provoking policies.  

Reading their manifesto they are seemingly the only party which take the climate emergency truly seriously.  They listen to the science and act accordingly with the struture of many of their policies. It  feels like the party is under no illusion when it comes to the speed needed to tackle the climate crisis. It requires radical ambition that is sadly missing from other parties manifesto’s. 

Would I vote for these environmental policies:

If the environment is your thing and you vote with your heart then the Greens are the way to go in my opinion.  The Green Party is the only party which proposes radical change at a speed which could potentially bring about some of the change needed to tackle the environmental crisis, and offer some form of distinct hope. 

This is one of a series of opinion pieces on the political parties’ 2024 general election manifestos. They were commissioned by Wild Justice several months ago by approaching a wide variety of conservationists and environmentalists long before the date of the general election was known. Some people who originally agreed to write pieces found the date and short timescale impossible and had to back out. We did not know what they would write and their only brief was to pick one or two political parties’ election manifestos and tell us what they liked and didn’t like about their environmental policies. We didn’t tell people what to write and we haven’t edited what they wrote (except to squeeze things into a common format, to correct minor grammatical and spelling errors and typos). The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Wild Justice.