Exeter Green Party have announced their candidate for a likely autumn general election which they will fight on a platform of ‘yes to Europe, no to climate change.’ Exeter resident Joe Levy, 25, stood in 2017 and will once again fight the seat for the Greens.
The announcement follows a packed out Green New Deal event held in the city last Thursday hosted by Molly Scott Cato, the party’s MEP for the South West.
The Green Party say that the Green New Deal will be the basis for a host of bold policies to tackle the climate emergency. Such a plan will aim to totally decarbonise the economy by 2030 while creating millions of new jobs and reduce social and economic inequalities through large scale public investment [1].
Greens are also the only party committed both to a People’s Vote and backing remain in such a referendum.
Reflecting on the successful Green New Deal event in Exeter, attended by over 120 people, Joe Levy said:
“A Green New Deal, and the policies needed to make this plan a reality, will be centre stage for the Greens.
“Tackling the climate emergency needn’t be a burden. In fact, by investing in clean energy, warm homes and public transport, a Green New Deal can ensure we create a more prosperous and healthy society with millions of new jobs in the green sectors of the economy.
“As well as ensuring a stable planet for future generations, such a plan will also tackle the UK’s extreme inequality and terrible levels of poverty, which are largely the result of years of Tory policy and cruel austerity.”
Joe Levy graduated from Exeter University in 2015 and works as an administrator in the city. He has led a number of community campaigns and projects, focusing particularly on food poverty, green spaces and youth engagement. Joe was central to the campaign which resulted in Exeter’s first elected Green councillor in May in St David’s ward, where Diana Moore achieved more than 55% of the vote and the highest number of votes anywhere in the city.
Molly Scott Cato, The South West’s Green MEP who secured 28% of the vote in the European elections in Exeter and who hosted the Green New Deal event last Thursday, said:
“I know few people with the energy, determination and commitment that Joe has. He believes passionately in our place inside the EU and would be a strong advocate for a Green New Deal. He would therefore make an excellent MP for Exeter.”
ENDS
Notes
[1] Green MP Caroline Lucas and Labour MP Clive Lewis have tabled a Private Members’ Bill that would force the Government to enact a ‘Green New Deal’: https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2019/03/26/caroline-lucas-and-clive-lewis-table-green-new-deal-bill/