Green Party Conference | What did the Green Party commit to during their party conference

Carla Denyer & Adrian Ramsay’s maiden conference as party leaders saw them call on the government to extend winter fuel payments amid rising energy bills. The provision of £320 to each household would cost £9bn, with the leaders of the party saying it would be funded through a one off windfall land value tax to be paid by all landlords of privately rented properties.

“This proposal is about keeping households from falling into fuel poverty, it’s about keeping people safe. It’s about the state responding to market failure. It’s about human dignity”

On the eve of CoP26, the three-day conference also saw party members back a Rights of Nature Act which would extend legal protections for wildlife and habitats in England and Wales, as well as establish an independent Commission for Nature to enforce the Act. This was besides calls to extend the definition of refugees to individuals forced to uproot from their homes because of the climate emergency; plans to increase recently debated overseas development assistance to £50bn per year by 2030; extend free social care to adults; and a wealth tax for the country’s wealthiest. As with other party conferences this year, there was not a great focus on how the party would reduce the racial inequalities exposed by COVID-19.

Mayowa Ayodele