Your say / Bristol Green Party
‘If you vote at the EU elections, reflect on the wealth of our nation and how it is distributed’
It looks like the EU elections are coming. The Brexit Party, allegedly funded by billionaires, is proudly shouting off that Britain is the sixth/seventh/eighth richest country in the world and would be better off going it alone.
Many are predicting a new downturn due to Brexit, so I think it is worth reflecting on the impact of nine years of austerity so far, its effect on real people with real lives and real problems – those at risk of eviction, job loss or family break up. And I hope you might think about your vote.
Bristol is a city of 450,000 people. It has a Local Crisis Prevention Fund costing £700,000 a year to which those in desperate situations can apply, normally just once.
is needed now More than ever
It’s run by the council, who find it cost effective to help, for example, a distraught single parent who is waiting for their universal credit payment while their landlord is twice daily knocking at the door for the rent. Without help they will be evicted and probably become homeless, with all the consequent problems and costs to the council that entails.
There aren’t enough council houses and they might fall prey to loan sharks or drug pushers. The council has a duty of care to prevent homelessness, and while this fund can’t help with the rent, it can pay for food vouchers or essential household goods, which often makes all the difference and keeps people in their homes.
This fund has recently released its annual report which makes for sorry reading. Although recently upped by a £100,000 budget amendment proposed by Green councillor Carla Denyer (paid for by increasing the charges to allow scaffolding and skips to occupy the public highway), the report explains that the cost of emergency help is rising.
Help is normally in the form of food vouchers but can also be for school uniforms and in winter for heating. It wasn’t so cold last winter, but the impact of cuts and universal credit delays bit harder than the frosts.
The report includes some good news too: “K got her gas and electric cards charged, her boiler was uncapped and she now has glorious central heating for the first time since 2014” and “today my cooker and beds arrived, I just want to say an amazing thank you, I am so happy, I can cook a warm meal for my son and we can sleep on beds, thank you so much,” for example.
The Green party led the campaign for Bristol City Council to declare a climate emergency
Carla Denyer, mentioned earlier, is standing as a candidate for the EU elections as a Green. I’ve mentioned she helped increase the Crisis Prevention Fund by £100,000. She also proposed to Bristol City Council that they declare a Climate Emergency – a motion which passed last November and led a wave of over 70 Councils across the UK doing likewise, and now parliament as well. This illustrates a well-rounded Green approach rooted in both social and environmental justice.
So if you do vote at the EU elections, just reflect on the wealth of our nation and how it is distributed. And look at those parties that are gung-ho for Brexit and their attitude to wealth, versus the pro-EU parties who want to make sure our country has an economy that is fair for all. Cast your vote wisely.
Councillor Clive Stevens
Clive Green is Green party councillor for Clifton Down.
Read more: ‘Other parties will ridicule Green policies up to the point when they steal them’
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