9 October 2008

Sheffield Green Party are pressing for a "Green New Deal", investing in jobs that will benefit us all in the future.

Cllr Bernard Little comments : "The government bail out seeks to prop up
our flawed financial system. The man and woman in the street might put up with a £500 billion hole in their pockets if it was creating jobs for them in the future. Jobs in council housing, sustainable transport, insulation, renewable energy and local food growth, for example. We have the skills in Sheffield and recession will see shrinking orders and spare capacity.

We can't let the banks go back to business as usual, as if nothing had
happened. We should be investing in "green collar" work while using cast iron government bonds as a secure home for pension funds and personal savings. We could end the financial panic, generate jobs, revitalise money flows, loosen ties to unreliable oil markets and cut carbon emissions. This is the "Green New Deal", proposed in July by a team of respected environmentalists and economists. It can help to solve not just the financial crisis, but our resource and environmental problems too.

If we're going to be asked to bail out banks we need to know they are
going to be run responsibly. That means a fair share of the votes on the
board as part owners. We should use those votes to cut excessive bonuses, clamp down on irresponsible investment and lending practices, and to split up the mega-banks into smaller, more accountable banks so that this can never happen again. It's a basic principle: no taxation without representation. " ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. The Green New Deal is co-authored by Green Party Leader Caroline Lucas, with a group of nine other economists, business people and environmentalists.
2. Taking inspiration from President Roosevelt's New Deal in the 1930s, it is a joined up response to the 'triple crunch' of financial crisis, peak
   oil production, and climate change. For more, see: http://www.sheffieldgreenparty.org.uk/greenewdeal/index.htm and
   http://tinyurl.com/greennewdeal-nef