--- election_year: 2015 party_id: scottish-greens party_name: Scottish Green Party party_leader: Patrick Harvie political_spectrum: left-green victory: false government_outcome: opposition sections: - economy - taxation - health - education - housing - immigration - defence - foreign-policy - environment - transport - law-and-order - welfare - democracy-and-constitution - agriculture - energy - devolution - science-and-technology - local-government --- # Scottish Green Party Manifesto 2015 ## Vote Green in 2015 We want a Green Government for Scotland and Britain and a transformation in our politics. In 2015 Greens may not become the biggest party, but everyone is tired of the same old politics – we are ready for change. ### This Election Is About Voting for What You Believe In. The Scottish Green Party has grown five-fold over the last year. With our sister parties in England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Greens are in a strong position to deliver a real alternative to the Westminster parties. ### Join Thousands in the #greensurge by Voting Green on 7 May 2015. We have a vision for Scotland and the UK, one that can be delivered by a Green Government. We also have policies and priorities that Green MPs will fight for, whoever is in government. ### Share This Manifesto with Your Friends and Family and Join the #greensurge by Voting Green. ## What’s important? ### Equality Not Poverty - £10 minimum wage ### Public Services in Public Hands - nationalise the railways ### Power to Communities - more powers for Scotland and local communities ## Equality not poverty We will make a clean break from austerity to create a more equal society and a job-rich economy. Here’s how: ### Make Work Pay with a £10 Minimum Wage We will increase the Minimum Wage to the Living Wage, because nobody should be expected to work for a wage that keeps them in poverty. We will raise the minimum wage in steps, with a target of £10 an hour for everyone by 2020. ### Stop Punishing the Poor –roll Back Welfare Cuts We will roll back welfare cuts founded on false claims that people prefer benefits rather than rewarding work. We will abolish the Bedroom tax and Workfare, lift the punishing sanctions regime, halt the roll-out of Universal Credit and allow the Scottish Parliament to design a scheme that works with devolved social security powers. In the longer term we will build a welfare system which removes the stigma of benefits, helps end the ‘poverty trap’ and promotes equality. A Citizens’ income is emblematic of this approach. A Citizen’s income will require a reform programme replace almost all benefits apart from disability payments with a simple regular payment to everyone – children, adults and pensioners. The beginnings of this system already exist with state pensions and Child Benefit. ### Invest in Homes, Health and Children We will make a clean break from the economics of austerity to invest in homes, health and children. Many of these policies are devolved; our break from austerity at Westminster will create the cash to implement them. We will replace the Council tax and business rates with a progressive land tax. We will aim to stabilise house prices and invest in social rented homes across the UK, financed by scrapping buy-to-let mortgage tax breaks and prudent borrowing. To make renting fairer, we will introduce secure tenancies and rent controls in areas of spiralling cost. We will invest in community-run health projects which keep people fit and healthy through a new Healthy Challenge fund. We will implement the world’s most ambitious home energy efficiency programme, slashing energy bills and carbon emissions, creating thousands of jobs and helping end the fuel poverty crisis. Scotland’s childcare system remains one of the most expensive in Europe, we will invest in affordable quality childcare to give children the best start in life with early education from well-qualified teachers and workers, and to give parents the chance to earn or learn for the future. ### Close the Gap – Wealth and Gender Equality Tackling wealth inequality will be a Green government priority. We will introduce a wealth tax of 2% on the wealthiest 1%, in other words people worth more than £2.5m. We will clamp down on tax evasion and avoidance –estimated to be worth £120bn in 2014. We will help ensure women are paid the same as men by raising the minimum wage, requiring businesses to publish pay data, requiring public and company boards to comprise least 40% women, and improving flexible working rights. ## Public services, in public hands We will invest in our public services and keep them in public control. Here’s how: ### Bring the Railways Back Into Public Hands East Coast rail returned over £1 billion pounds to the public purse in five years of public ownership, which could be used to pay for a better, more affordable, public transport system or wider public services. Instead the railway has been privatised yet again. We will make sure when railway franchises, like the ScotRail franchise, are ready for renewal the default option will be public ownership. ### Stop the Sell-off We are committed to a publicly-funded NHS, free at the point of use. We will repeal the 2012 Health and Social Care Act which is privatising the NHS in England and Wales. This is bad for people across the UK and risks reducing the public money available in the future for health services in Scotland. We oppose any corporate power grabs, like the transatlantic trade investment Partnership (TTIP), which will lock-in privatisation. If adopted, TTIP will also increase the power of corporations to influence our health, food and environmental protections and to sue governments over new laws. ### Invest in Education and Innovation Education is one of the most important public goods – access should not be based on ability to pay. We support investment in schools and highly-qualified teachers, and we support maintaining free university tuition in Scotland and ending tuition fees across the UK. Education is devolved to the Scottish Parliament but we will support colleges and access to vocational learning by increasing the minimum wage for apprentices from the paltry £3.30 an hour to £10 an hour. We will provide more public-supported investment in research and innovation to create the foundations for new businesses and new jobs. ### Sort Out the Banks The financial sector needs fixed. Banks still serve shareholders and the casino economy. The UK is still dominated by a handful of very large commercial institutions who use credit scores, not local knowledge, to make lending decisions. We will fight to create a banking system with banks of all types and sizes. That means supporting more cooperatives, credit unions, mutuals and small banks serving the local area, focussed on lending to local businesses. To do this will require better regulation and oversight, but also new thinking. We will use the government-owned Royal Bank of Scotland to create a network of local banks for every city and region, ensuring that each bank is a People’s Bank, obliged to offer cheap basic banking services, be governed by local stakeholders and hold a dual social and financial mandate. We support an EU-wide financial transactions tax which could raise £20 billion every year in the UK. ## Power to communities The referendum was an inspiring eruption of democracy. We refuse to go back to the same tired, old and tribal politics of Westminster. We will deliver more powers for Scotland and for local communities. Here’s how: ### Greater Powers for Scotland We will ensure the full set of new powers proposed for Scotland are devolved as quickly and completely as possible – there is much work to do in Scotland and across the UK to reverse the damage done by the last UK government. Greens secured greater powers over fracking, energy efficiency and fuel poverty during the Smith Commission. We will make sure decisions at Westminster don’t prevent the Scottish Parliament from bold action. We respect the outcome of the referendum – the majority of people voted no – but we do think an opportunity was missed. The Green Yes campaign had little to do with identity or feelings of patriotism but a belief that power should be exercised as close to people as possible. We see the Smith Commission as part of a process of more devolution to come – to Holyrood, local authorities and communities. ### Workplace Democracy In too many workplaces we see unacceptable pay inequality, abuse of tax loopholes and poor treatment of employees. In such circumstances we will give employees the legal right to buy out their companies and turn them into workers co-operatives. This right will be subject to limits, consultation and an asset-lock but will help create a revolution in workplace cooperation and direct employee involvement in management, product development and innovation. Elsewhere we will promote other forms of workplace democracy like employee participation on boards and a positive role for trade unions. Nobody should face discrimination in the workplace or be forced to accept a zero-hours contract. We will improve workers’ rights and roll back anti-trade union laws. We will make access to employment tribunals free. We will introduce laws to limit the size of CEO pay relative to the lowest paid workers in the company. Communities should also be able to own important local assets – for example the fans’ right to buy their football clubs. ### Create an Energy Democracy Energy and benefits from the renewables revolution should be shared by everyone, not controlled only by multinational corporations. We will support Councils to create ‘local energy companies’ to build publicly-owned renewables, earning profits to fund public services. The Green Investment Bank will invest in public and community-owned energy schemes. We will reform the energy generation market to support low-carbon energy and community ownership. We will not build new nuclear power plants because they can never be democratically-controlled, decentralised, or delivered and decommissioned without massive subsidy. ### End the Westminster Rot It’s time for a change in how Westminster is run. We need to break the stranglehold of paid-lobbyists with a better public register. We will deliver more transparency by requiring MPs who take paid jobs and directorships in big companies to openly declare them. We will roll back recent legislation which gags small campaigns and community groups during an election. Westminster should represent the diversity of Britain. We support the Women 50:50 campaign for gender balance in parliament. We will end the ‘first past the post’ voting system and replace it with a proportional system to elect MPs who better represent the politics of voters. The House of Lords should be replaced by people who are actually elected to make law. The voting franchise will be extended to 16 years old. ## Environment and climate change We live on one shared planet and stewarding it for future generations is our greatest responsibility. Growth at all costs cannot be the aim of our economy and society. It is vital the international negotiations in Paris this year agree a global deal to reduce carbon emissions and deliver climate justice for communities in the global south. We will help tackle climate change, safeguard our ecosystem and deliver social justice. Here’s how: ### Green Industrialisation We need a transition to a jobs-rich economy which respects the environment. We will deliver a government-led Green New Deal to invest millions of pounds in Green industrialisation and the homes, transport and energy we need for a low-carbon future. This can be financed debt-free by a programme of Green infrastructure Quantitative easing. We will promote sustainable expansion in industries such as quality food production, clean chemical sciences, digital and creative industries, medical and life sciences, construction, engineering and the energy industry. We will support independent small retail, tourism and sports, waste reuse and recycling, shipbuilding, textiles and design. Successful economies and enterprises are based on smart specialisation and direct employee involvement in management, product development and innovation. ### Promoting Our Wildlife, Seas and Landscape Scotland's landscapes, seascapes and wealth of wildlife are among our greatest assets. We recognise that biodiversity has a value in its own right but is also a lynchpin of our tourism economy, is fundamental to our health and wellbeing and provides us with vital services such as flood management and carbon storage. We will ensure our most important wildlife sites are given proper protection from development, encourage restoration of habitats that help us manage land and water sustainably and ensure that people across Scotland have access to high quality greenspace. ### North Sea Skills We know most of the world’s fossil fuel reserves have to be kept in the ground if we are to meet our climate change responsibilities. This has profound implications not only for the oil industry in the north east of Scotland but for our whole society and economy. It is time for a change in strategic direction. By acting now, Scotland could become the world centre of decommissioning the fossil fuel industry. Rather than cutting taxes for the oil industry, we will invest in marine renewables to use the skills, engineering expertise and wealth of natural resources around our shores. With skills in sub-sea engineering, concentrated in Aberdeen, we have an opportunity to excel in tidal and wave energy and use these as a basis for prosperity. We will make a just transition possible and support City Deals which aim to deliver it. ### Growing and Fishing Sustainably Our land and seas can form the basis for sustainable agriculture and fisheries but exploiting them for short term gain will impoverish our economy and environment. We will direct European funding for agriculture and fishing to support sustainable land management and long-term fish stock recovery. We will also drive a revolution in local food sovereignty. We will improve competition law to regulate supermarkets where they prevent a local food economy from flourishing. We will continue to oppose GM crops because control of food production should be publicly accountable, not in the hands of multinational businesses. ## Society The post-World War II generation which built the welfare state should be our inspiration. They had suffered together, fought fascism together, and mourned together. Their collective will was that they should enjoy the benefits of peace together. But over recent decades the selfish values of right-wing individualism have undermined the empathy our society depends on. Our generation must win once again the argument for a welfare state, social justice and a welcoming nation. Greens will make that case clearly, forcefully and with enthusiasm. Here’s how: ### A Welcoming Country, and Asylum with Dignity We believe Scotland should be a welcoming country where immigrants are celebrated as an asset to our economy and enriching for our culture. Immigration is a great benefit to Scotland, just as Scots have benefited over the generations through migration to other countries. We will consistently challenge the toxic rhetoric used by too many politicians which turns people against their neighbours. We will reinstate the post-study work visa to allow students who study at UK universities to stay and use their education in Britain. We will reform the dysfunctional approach of the UK Visas and immigration agency to meet Scottish immigration needs. We will create an asylum system which treats people with dignity. ### Poverty and Health Inequalities To tackle Scotland’s pockets of poor health means ending poverty in those communities. NHS research shows the Living Wage is one of the most effective ways to reduce inequalities and improve both physical and mental health. Healthcare is devolved to the Scottish Parliament but we will support UK-wide actions to tackle poverty and inequality – such as the £10 minimum wage, a wealth tax on the richest 1%, affordable housing and a fairer social security system. ### Equalities and Civil Liberties We will respect the basic human rights of all citizens and will celebrate the UK’s Human Rights Act. Prejudice such as that of race, colour, gender, sexuality, age, disability, religion, national or social origin has no place in our society. The threat of terrorism should not undermine our civil liberties. We oppose any mass surveillance of the population and will roll back untargeted state powers to intercept emails and phone records. We will strengthen oversight of the security services and introduce a Digital Bill of Rights to protect net neutrality and online privacy. ### Europe and Trade We will fight for a more democratic Europe. One driven by elected institutions and reasserting the principle of devolving power to the most local level. Much EU action has been progressive: safeguarding basic rights, peace and security achieved through mutual understanding, environmental protection, the spread of culture and ideas, the strengthening of workers’ rights, and regulation of the financial system. We have no fear of campaigning positively for remaining in the EU if a referendum on membership takes place, but our vision for Europe seeks to end the economics of free trade and unsustainable growth – the election of Syriza (along with Green coalition partners) in the Greek election provides an opportunity to challenge Europe’s right wing agenda. We will use our diplomatic and trade muscle, not on behalf of corporations, but in support of human rights, indigenous people and impoverished nations. We will support the poorest countries and communities affected by climate change with aid and an expanded Climate Justice fund. ### Peace and Defence It’s time for the UK to play a new role on the world stage. A Green Government will deliver a foreign policy based on peace, a global deal on climate change and a halt to the arms trade. We will disarm the trident nuclear weapons in the Clyde, and scrap the Vanguard-class submarines. Workers will be reskilled and redeployed to provide defence of the strategically important northern seas from Faslane and Coulport. We will leave NATO and collaborate on security with our neighbours without the use of weapons of mass destruction. We will reduce military spending and reorient the armed forces away from the projection of power and towards defence, UN-sanctioned peace-keeping, conflict resolution and international humanitarian efforts. ## The candidates Aberdeen South: Dan Yeats Clydesdale & Tweeddale: Jody Jamieson Angus: David Mumford Edinburgh East: Peter McColl West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine: Richard Openshaw East Dunbartonshire: Ross Greer East Lothian: Jason Rose Edinburgh South: Phyl Meyer Central Ayrshire: Veronika Tudhope Dundee East: Helen Grayshan Edinburgh North & Leith: Sarah Beattie-Smith Edinburgh South West: Richard Doherty Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk: Pauline Stewart Dumfriesshire Dundee West: Pauline Hinchion Edinburgh West: Pat Black Dunfermline & West Fife: Lewis Campbell North East Fife: Andy Collins Glasgow South: Alastair Whitelaw Paisley & Renfrewshire North: Ryan Morrison Midlothian: Ian Baxter Glasgow Central: Cass MacGregor Glasgow North East: Zara Kitson Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey: Isla O'Reilly North Perthshire: Louise Ramsay Glasgow North-West: Moira Crawford Glasgow East: Kim Long Ross, Skye & Lochaber: Anne Thomas Stirling: Mark Ruskell Glasgow North: Martin Bartos Glasgow South West: Sean Templeton Moray: James Mackessack-Leitch