While Liz Truss has been trying to cut taxes for the wealthiest, more and more people across the UK are resorting to foodbanks. Here in the town, we read in last week’s Times of Tunbridge Wells that the Nourish Community Foodbank is struggling to meet demand as rising energy bills and the cost of living hit families already struggling. Then later in the same edition, the motoring section highlights an £8,400 rear seat option for a £200,000 luxury SUV to make the back seats more comfortable. Don’t these contrasting articles perfectly summarise the Conservative vision of Britain?
Contrast this with the Green Party Conference in Harrogate where delegates voted for a progressive tax on the richest one per cent of households to fund a nationwide insulation and renewable energy programme, creating warmer, more comfortable homes and bringing bills down for good. A ‘dirty profits tax’ on North Sea oil and gas has 94% public support and would help accelerate the transition to cleaner, cheaper renewable energy. Better for the environment and better for struggling families. Isn’t a Wellbeing Economy the humane alternative?
Having a Green voice locally can help make these ambitions become a reality, you only have to look at what Greens are doing across the South East. Bus services are essential to the support of rural and suburban communities and Green councillors in Kent are leading the charge to protect the 56 bus routes across the county under threat of the axe by operators leaving parents worrying about how their children will get to school. Green-led Lewes District Council are setting out an ambitious plan to tackle the shocking state of badly insulated homes by retrofitting social housing at a large scale thereby delivering warmer homes, green jobs and lower carbon emissions at the same time making it accessible for all households. In Maidstone, it’s the Green Party that’s challenging the creation of an ‘Investment Zone’ in Kent the result of which will be the scrapping of planning laws to allow building on precious green spaces across the county flying in the face of the ecological emergency.
Given all this, it’s not surprising that local people have had enough of the excesses of the Conservative party and are turning to the Greens. Despite our antiquated First Past The Post system, we’re getting Green councillors elected across the region in numbers. Witness the recent Maresfield council by-election result where Ian Tysh romped home for the Greens with 61% of the vote.
In Conservative Britain, the rich are getting richer and everyone else is getting poorer and the prime minister has been doing everything she can to maintain these injustices. She doubled down on the Tories’ lack of compassion and awareness of people’s real-life concerns as the cost of living crisis is allowed to continue and gather pace. What does Greg Clark think of all this? His silence is deafening.
The next borough elections are in May 2023. Isn’t it time we had a Green voice on Tunbridge Wells Borough Council?