Your editorial (2 May) recommending a Labour vote at the general election acknowledges that “it would be good to hear Green voices in Westminster to press further on climate change and sustainability”. I agree - which is why I’d urge your readers to vote Green. The Greens are the only nationwide party to commit to urgent and ambitious action on climate change, and we have been almost alone in championing the very fossil fuel divestment movement the Guardian has acknowledged is so critically important.
Not only that. A group of leading academics, Academics Stand Against Poverty, has analysed the different party manifestos from the perspective of poverty eradication and concluded that “none of the main parties, except the Greens, have an effective strategy to address poverty at this election. The Greens seem to consistently propose innovative policies to address long-standing public policy challenges.”
Moreover, when it comes to safeguarding our precious NHS, I was privileged to be the MP who introduced the NHS reinstatement bill in parliament a few months ago - a bill that goes far further than Labour in not only repealing the government’s Health and Social Care Act 2012, but also in reversing the past 25 years of marketisation in our health service.
And since neither of the bigger parties is on course to win anything like an overall majority, the role of the smaller parties will be more important than ever. Greens have been clear that we would never prop up a Tory government, but that we would support a minority Labour government on a case-by-case basis – and would never support a vote of no confidence in it. If people want to hear to continue to hear Green voices at Westminster, it’s crucial they vote for them on Thursday.
Caroline Lucas
Green candidate, Brighton Pavilion
