.jpg)
Green Mayoral candidate Jenny Jones today launched the Green Party’s policies on jobs and employment in Hackney.
Jenny Jones said: "Green Assembly Members elected in May will fight to ensure that every young person in London is offered a job or apprenticeship.
"Green Assembly Members support strong investment and protection of local economies.
"We have already introduced planning protections for small shops through two major investigations. By electing more Greens in May we can boost local jobs, rebalance our economy and build thriving communities."
Policies include:
– Keeping jobs and money in the local economy: Commission research into "buy local" schemes and work with boroughs and trade bodies to promote those that work.
– Supporting independent shops: Lobby the Government to give local authorities more powers to prevent chain stores taking over independent shops, and introduce a presumption against purpose-built supermarket car parks and ensure local shops aren’t disadvantaged by parking standards
– Support for enterprise: Focus City Hall’s economic development budget on support for small businesses and cooperatives to support their expansion, ensure micro and small businesses are properly represented on London’s Local Enterprise Partnership
– Establish a Community Enterprise Zone: Ensuring the infrastructure exists to support small and social enterprises. Maintain the CompeteFor system helping micro and small enterprises bid for public sector contracts.
– Investment in apprenticeships and skills across industries: create at least 150,000 high-quality apprenticeships aimed at young people under 25 playing at least the London Living Wage and call for the Government to make apprenticeships mandatory across a wide range of industries
Green candidate for Hackney, Caroline Allen, said: "Hackney is one of the poorest areas in London, and is in real need of policies to reduce the gap between rich and poor and help young people find employment.
"All of us Greens across London seeking election to the Assembly are determined to fight inequality in the capital and ensure City Hall works in the interests of Londoners themselves."
Other campaign policies include:
Making housing affordable with new housing, the refurbishment of more than a million homes to cut energy bills and a radical shakeup of the private rented sector.
Bringing down fares so that public transport is always cheaper than driving and make suburban rail services more regular.
Let’s transform our streets by reducing traffic in congested areas, cleaning up London’s dirty polluted air and making streets safer for walking and cycling.
Improving our environment by completing a network of green spaces, planting more trees to cool our streets and generating clean energy from food waste.
Rebuilding trust in policing with more officers on the beat through greater use of lower-cost office staff and police resources for road safety, not unnecessary surveillance