https://www.itv.com/news/london/2024-04-16/the-london-debate-mayoral-candidates-go-head-to-head-to-win-your-vote

Snippet from X below:

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Zoë Garbett, who is standing as the Green Party’s candidate for Mayor of London, said:

“London isn’t working for too many people in our city. We need a plan to refocus London for the workers and renters of our city.

“That’s what this Manifesto is about. Not a mayor sitting in City Hall, but a campaign on the side of workers and renters in every workplace, neighbourhood and community.

“For so many Londoners, the problems of our city start at home. As a private renter, I know how unaffordable London is. I know how unsecure it can feel when you know that your landlord can hike rents or kick you out with little notice.

“In our manifesto, we set out how we will tackle this. Big ideas, bold plans, rooted firmly in what Londoners are saying and need. That’s what the Green Party is about – being on the side of workers, of renters, of people.

“The time for a Green Mayor of London is now.”

The policies the Green Party would introduce to address the inequality across London include:

• Reduce transport costs, including by extending free bus travel to under 22s, providing free bus travel to people seeking asylum and reinstating free pre-9am travel for Freedom Pass and 60+ Oyster card holders.
• Provide free school meals for primary and secondary school children.
• Set up a rent commission to get a better deal for renters – by not only introducing a rent freeze, but ultimately bringing down rents.
• Make the Met earn that trust and confidence of communities, reducing the use of stop and search on young people and deprioritising the policing of drugs.

The party held the event in zone three to draw attention to the fact many Londoners have been priced out of more central areas where they lived in, grew up in and called home and were moving to boroughs like Waltham Forest or further.

The Green Party Deputy leader and Green London Assembly member, Zack Polanski, said:

“London should be a national and global leader but when it comes to housing our city has some of the most expensive and worse quality homes in the country. The current Labour Mayor has not done enough to address this.

“One of our key commitments in this manifesto is that we will deal with the lack of affordable and good quality housing right across the City.

“As a Green Mayor of London, Zoë will demand rent control power and will introduce a two-year rent freeze as soon as we get them. We will also set up a Rent Commission to look at bringing down private rents.”

You can download the Full Manifesto

You can download the Mini Manifesto

https://zoegarbett.london/the-time-is-now-green-party-launches-manifesto-for-london

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London needs a Mayor that will hold The Met Police to account:

Green Party candidate for Mayor of London Zoë Garbett has already delivered in Hackney and is ready to do this for London.

Video on London Green Party YouTube

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The report, which was published on 21 March 2023, describes The Met as being institutionally racist, misogynist, homophobic and disablist. 

Baroness Cassey referenced racist officers and staff, routine sexism, and “deep-seated” homophobia.

Zoë Garbett, said “The failure to accept that the Met is institutionally racist after it was set out so clearly in report after report – most recently in Casey review is inexcusable.  

“The Commissioner could have accepted that charge but he chose not to. Londoners can see the disproportionality in policing and this desperately needs addressing.

“The police are meant to be there to keep Londoners safe – and the reality is for decades  many people don’t feel that is the case.

“Greens in City Hall have been the fiercest voice calling for a change in the way we do policing in London. But until the service recognises the issues, we can’t start the process of rebuilding trust.”

The Green candidate also pledged to focus more on local community policing which was another recommendation in the Casey Review.

Garbett added, “A Green Mayor would restore community policing and invest in supporting Safer Neighbourhood Boards and panels which represent local communities at borough and ward level where residents can direct priorities and hold the Met to account. 

“This would also help improve trust between the community and the police by creating regular communication and allowing local people and businesses to have much more input into local policing priorities.”

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Zoë, who is also a councillor for Dalston in Hackney, has pledged to prioritise action to improving housing standards by addressing issues like damp and poor insulation.

She said, “No Londoner should live in a cold, damp, mouldy, draughty home. But sadly, so many of us do.

The Green candidate visited one resident in East London to talk about the lack of maintenance being done on her home where she has lived for 44 years.

Talking about the issues she faced as a social housing tenant, Rosa told Zoë, “I’ve lived here for 44 years and now I feel very, very let down.

“I am living with mould and damp at every window as well as the draught coming in. When it’s windy, I might as well be sitting outside.

“My bills are huge because literally the heating is going out of the window.”

Talking about how she would fix the issue if elected as Mayor of London on 2 May, Zoë said, “I would aim to cut the number of these poor quality houses by at least a third in 2028, even faster if we can secure more funding.

“I would immediately set up a Cold Homes Strategy with an insulation and ventilation taskforce to deal with cold and damp homes across our city,

She also committed to working with local authorities to recruit more Environmental Health Officers to support tenants and enforce high standards across council and private sector housing.

Zoë said, “There is a big shortage of council staff to do the roles needed to take action on behalf of tenants having to live in these awful conditions. We need to train up much more staff to do this.

Talking about the current Labour Mayor of London’s record on this, she pointed out: “The Mayor of London have failed to use the funds that have been made available.

“In the first year of his much heralded “Social Housing Decarbonisation Scheme”, only 157 homes across the whole city were upgraded in London. That is a staggering failure.

“London deserves a Mayor that will take this seriously. As a renter myself I know just how important this is to millions of people that live here.”

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This policy would go further than Labour’s pledge to provide free school meals only to primary aged children and would apply to all children in state-funded secondary education.

As the price of food has soared along with basic essentials, families already struggling are facing the horrible prospect of being forced to cut back even on weekday lunches for their school-aged children (1).

Zoë said, “No child should be hungry, ever,  but especially not at such a crucial time in their education. It’s not just about stomachs rumbling in class, this is about correcting a deep and damaging injustice in our education system.

“Universal free school meals for all our children in London just makes sense, it’s fair, it removes the stigma around claiming this benefit and it ensures our kids always have the option of a hot, nutritious meal on offer.

“Families being hammered by the cost of living crisis, the pitiful state of our employment sector rife with insecure and underpaid jobs and substandard and expensive homes don’t get any relief when their children leave primary school, so it doesn’t make sense to stop this support.

“With 40 per cent of London children in food insecurity, their parents and carers are right to demand that all their children are fed at school – not just the ones in primary.

“I pledge to fix this gap with proper, long-term funding and expand universal free school meals to all children in state-funded secondary education. No child will go hungry under a Green Mayor.”

On a recent visit to Westminster House Youth Club in Nunhead, the Green Party candidate spoke to parents and grandparents about the challenges they face.

Speaking on the importance of free school meals, one grandparent, Mabel, told Zoë, “if a child is not well-fed, they are not going to concentrate.

“We have to make sure they have free school dinners to sustain them for the day. Eight hours is a long time, and some children might not even eat before they leave home – some even don’t eat the night before and are hoping that the next morning they will get food.

“Kids know that at school, there is hope, they will get something to eat. So that’s it – when a child is well-fed, they will be able to concentrate.”

Notes

1 |  https://www.childhoodtrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Food-Insecurity-2022-Report-1.pdf

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Ms Garbett said, “Londoners have suffered under fourteen years of economic mismanagement by this Conservative government. London needs investment in public services but all the Chancellor had to offer was a tax bribe that benefits the richest 1%.

“Public services across London are struggling. Both Croydon and Havering councils have had to request exceptional financial support and others will need help soon as well.

“There was nothing for the millions of people that rely on public transport but yet another freeze on fuel duty. The real-term cut in fuel duty costs the economy £billions and doesn’t help people that don’t drive.

“And it fails to tackle our housing crisis. This is a political choice. Investing in building new socially rented homes, and in insulation for our current houses, would save people far more money than a 2p tax cut, while investing in our economy too.

“In the run up to this budget, the Green Party have proposed more funding for public services and a proper programme of investment to address the climate crisis through a wealth tax on the multi-millionaires and billionaires. We need an economy where everyone pays their fair share and the super wealthy have been let off the hook for too long.”

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Zoë says that to urgently increase the number of social housing, existing homes and programmes to ‘buy the supply’ need to be prioritised. (1).

Highlighting the fact that London has more households on the waiting list for social housing then any other part of the country, she said:

“We are beyond a housing crisis.  Londoners desperately need more affordable homes and we should look at every possible way of making that happen. I have listened to residents who feel neglected and are in desperate need of secure, warm housing.

“This is a basic human right.

“Building new social homes is a big part of the solution – but this will take time. There are former council homes that Local Authorities can buy back using existing powers. These homes will then become available at London Living Rent levels for renting.”

Laura Issac, a Lambeth resident, said “I’ve been living in temporary accommodation for 13 years, I have young children all in the same room because we can’t use one room due to leaks and mould. For the last week I’ve been without heating and hot water and no-one seems to care. It’s been great to meet Zoë and it’s amazing to actually meet people that actually listen”

Zoë also outlined how a Green Mayor’s London Plan will include stronger requirements of developers to deliver the homes London needs including increasing the proportion of council homes in any developments to at least 50% and requiring all developments (regardless of size) to comply.

“Londoners need a Mayor who will approach this with the urgency required. A Green Mayor will stand up for everyone’s right to affordable, safe housing. To deliver this, I plan to use all available powers and make a case to government for the funding to fix the problem: it has gone on too long, has been allowed to become a miserable reality, and affects far too many.”

Notes:

1 | https://www.swlondoner.co.uk/news/02022024-london-has-the-most-households-waiting-for-social-housing

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Zoë Garbett, who visited Tooting Broadway today,  has welcomed the new commitment by the current Mayor of London to earmark £3 million a year for more toilets at tube stations. Last year, a report showed Tooting Broadway was in the middle of a ‘loo desert’.

The announcement for additional funding follows a prolonged campaign by Green Assembly Member Caroline Russell – but Ms Garbett pledged to go further if elected in May.

Data from a recent you gov poll shows 74% of Londoners agree there should be more toilets provided by the Mayor of London and TfL on the tube network (2).

Zoë Garbett said, “It’s clear there are not enough public loos in our city. For many Londoners, knowing there are clean, safe, and accessible toilets when they are travelling around can make the difference between having the confidence to get out or staying at home

“The Mayor has dithered on this while Londoners are very clear they want more loos. £3 million a year for more toilets on the TfL network  is a good start but the Greens have shown that we need to be spending much more than £3 million a year to fix this. I would prioritise this as an issue of public health and accessibility.”

Caroline Russell said, “Zoë and I have heard from so many Londoners today at Tooting Broadway telling us how they often need a loo and can’t find one.  They want to see more toilets on the tube network and as a Green Mayor, Zoë would deliver this.”

Notes:

1 |  Green AM lifts the lid on extent of loo ‘deserts’ on London tube network | London City Hall

2 |  New polling proves it: Londoners need more toilets on TfL network | London City Hall

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In a policy pledge before the upcoming Mayor of London election, Zoë Garbett pledges to create ‘ten new parks’ across the city. 

She would designate areas like Leigh Road Sports Ground in East Ham in the London Plan and put a plan in place to transform derelict and neglected green areas into vibrant community parks.

Zoë said,

“Parks are vital community spaces where residents can enjoy nature, children can play and people can exercise and come together in a safe environment. Study after study shows just how important green space is, but London has the lowest levels of green space availability in all of the UK (1).

“Well managed parks and green spaces provide habitat for wildlife, help protect our city from the impacts of climate change, and play a vital role in improving air quality. 

“Across London, there are many examples of property developers ‘land banking’ large areas of green space – in some cases former community recreation grounds, neglecting them and hoping that local councils will grant planning permission to build incredibly unsuitable developments. 

“I will make sure these areas are designated as park land in the London Plan and I will make sure funding is available to help local councils and community groups get started.”

Joe Hudson-Small, the Green Party candidate for City and East in the London Assembly elections highlighted Leigh Road Sports Groundas being a place that would be suitable for one of the new parks.

Joe said,

“Zoë and the Green Party have an ambitious plan not just to protect London’s historic green spaces but to reclaim green space back from unused and boarded-off development sites and open these spaces up for use by local communities. 

“The ‘Ten New Parks’ initiative includes the Leigh Road Sports Ground in Newham which has been fenced off and inaccessible for years. 

“Newham has the least publicly accessible green space per person of any London Borough (2) and developing this area as a new park would support local biodiversity and reduce the impact of air pollution from the North Circular for residents living in East Ham.”

On the announcement, Alice Roberts, Head of Campaigns from CPRE London said, “Too many green sites in London are fenced off and derelict. It’s a huge waste. 

“That’s why we’re campaigning to bring them back into use and asking London Mayoral Election  candidates to sign up to creating a minimum of 10 major new parks or nature reserves for London by 2030 – giving a new lease of life – and a clear identity – to large areas of neglected and dis-used or under-used land, turning them into attractive, welcoming destinations for all.”

Notes:

1 | Green Space Index, Fields in Trust, 2019.

2 | Two major new parks needed in Newham, say green space campaigners – CPRE London 

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