Green Party Candidate Siobhan Harper-Nunes today unveiled her manifesto for the West Midlands Mayoral election.

Siobhan is confident that her Green manifesto has the policies the West Midlands needs, saying:

“It’s time for a change. The Green Party has always been the party of new ideas, and our manifesto for West Midlands Mayor is no exception, so I urge people who are fed up with the status quo to look at what we’re offering.

Our policies will help tackle the crippling inequality in our region. I will support communities that have been overlooked and left behind for so long, ensure that action on the climate crisis is at the right scale and speed, and create a more democratic and accountable Combined Authority.

Seven years ago we were saying the Mayor should take buses back into public control. Now the other parties have finally caught up on that, but they are still way behind on other issues. 

Throughout this campaign I’ve been championing investment in warmer homes and social homes, putting the needs of people and planet first. The other parties can’t be trusted to prioritise this.

If you want a Mayor who’s going to work for everyone, look after the planet and bring true democratic engagement and accountability to the region, vote Green on May 2nd.”

Some of Siobhan’s key pledges are to:

• Appoint people to a number of key roles to drive the most urgent priorities, such as
  • A Deputy Mayor charged with championing community wealth building
  • A Homes Transformation Lead to set up and fund major retrofit programmes across the West Midlands to improve levels of energy efficiency, create thousands of jobs and transform the lives of people who have been struggling to afford energy bills.
  • A Walking and Cycling Commissioner to drive a ‘vision zero’ approach of no serious injuries or deaths on our roads.
• Establish a community wealth building grant fund, to support local community organisations working on a local level to strengthen local economies and wellbeing.
• Establish an investment/business support fund for locally based Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), Social Enterprises and Co-ops targeted at the areas of the region that need most support and the sectors that will bring most benefits. 
• Work with colleges across the region to deliver the skills needed for the Green jobs of the future, including those needed for mass home retrofit programmes. Also, undertake a detailed assessment of the skills gaps to ensure our young people are prepared for the future opportunities that investment in Green technology will bring.
• Lobby for funding for fare-free public transport for under 22s, those looking for work, those in full time education and 60-65 year olds., and conduct a study of the feasibility and benefits of extending this to everyone.
• Come together with Councils to issue Green Bonds to assist with decarbonisation, fund low-carbon infrastructure and support our low-carbon future. They will draw investment to the region, driving innovation and creating jobs.
• Lead efforts to ensure that public buildings of the WMCA, member councils and others are properly insulated and energy efficient.
• Take all possible steps to divest the West Midlands Pension Fund (WMPF) of its investments in fossil-fuel industries and push for more pension funds to be invested in local energy technologies.
• Lobby central government to allow the WMCA to have a directly elected Assembly.
• Include representatives of voluntary organisations, community groups, unions, SMEs and under-represented or vulnerable groups in scrutinising the Mayor and Combined Authority’s work
• Engage more with community groups, giving local communities a bigger say over how the mayor’s powers protect and develop their local areas.
• Use Citizens’ Assemblies to ensure the direct participation of members of the public in forming policy, investigating issues of real concern to the WMCA and co-producing WMCA plans.
• Work to at least 20% of the Combined Authority being decided by the public.

The full manifesto can be read here: