The NHS: Based on need, not ability to pay
Why is the government charging nurses to train, when we have a national shortage? Why is it paying private agencies millions for locum staff, instead of recruiting permanent staff and making sure their workinglife is sustainable?
The Green Party believes in an NHS that looks after us all. Molly Scott Cato, MEP says: ‘A fair tax system goes to the heart of what it means to be a just and equitable society, and it’s necessary to fund our increasingly stretched NHS.’ 60% of people in a recent poll said they thought corporations should pay more tax. Do you agree?
Ask the Mayor to clean up Camberwell's air
We are calling on the Mayor of London and Transport for London to replace buses on all routes passing through Camberwell Green with hybrid, hydrogen or electric buses by 2018. This is not just about Camberwell! Cleaning up the 15 dirty diesel bus routes will be good for the health of people all along those routes: in Elephant and Castle, Walworth, Vauxhall, Oval, Brixton, Herne Hill, Forest Hill and so on...
Southwark Green Party's recent monitoring of nitrogen dioxide pollution around Camberwell Green has shown that annual levels at the bus stops outside Butterfly Walk/McDonalds on Denmark Hill are more than twice the legal EU limit. The monitor outside McDonalds measured 84 micrograms per cubic metre, while the legal EU limit is 40.
Air pollution news
Air pollution affects everyone, and we must take real steps to reduce levels of nitrogen dioxide and particulates. This means steps like: fewer journeys by car, cleaner buses and taxis, insulation on homes to reduce the emissions from heating.
George Monbiot wrote a helpful summary of the damage that air pollution is doing to children's health and gave permission for others to reprint it. We have added some advice about how you can protect yourself by reducing your exposure, for example by taking back roads instead of main roads.
Read moreGreens defend the NHS
On Saturday 4 March, Southwark Greens joined around 200,000 other protesters for the #OurNHS national demonstration in central London. We marched to Parliament Square in support of a fully and publicly funded NHS, and to oppose spending cuts and privatisation. We also marched in support of the thousands of NHS workers who came to the UK as migrants. Speakers on the day included Larry Sanders, Green Party health spokesperson, and Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party. There was a strong Green Party presence on the march, with many different groups from across the country coming in their coach-loads. It was great to talk to Greens from places as diverse as East Sussex, Norwich and Stoke-on-Trent.
Larry Sanders's Guardian article on the NHS crisis can be read here.
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