Green party manifesto calls for peaceful political revolution to end austerity

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/14/green-party-manifesto-peaceful-political-revolution-end-austerity-natalie-bennett

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The Green party will launch its manifesto calling for a “peaceful political revolution” to end austerity.

The document will be unveiled jointly on Tuesday by party leader Natalie Bennett and Caroline Lucas, Green candidate for Brighton Pavilion and former party leader, who is considered a more accomplished media performer.

Speaking at a theatre in the east London district of Dalston, Bennett will talk about the party’s social and economic policies, saying: “Our manifesto is an unashamedly bold plan to create a more equal, more democratic society while healing the planet from the effects of an unstable, unsustainable economy.”

Lucas will focus on the party’s environmental policies, calling for “real leadership when it comes to tackling climate change”.

“From ending the scandal of cold homes to investing in a public transport system that puts the public first, our plans will make a positive difference to people’s lives, create new jobs and help protect our environment,” she will say.

“We have put investing in a greener future at the heart of our manifesto and only Green MPs will demand parliament delivers change that reflects the scale of the climate problem.”

The party is targeting constituencies such as Bristol West and Norwich South but it is only expected to win one seat, Brighton Pavilion, which Lucas is hoping to hold against Labour.

However, the Greens are likely to have a wider impact on the election because they are taking votes from former Labour supporters, potentially stopping Labour from taking seats from the Tories and Liberal Democrats.

Polls suggest the Greens have around 7% of the vote – a similar level to the Liberal Democrats but in less concentrated pockets.

This is far more than the 1% they polled at the last election and the party has now got more members than either the Liberal Democrats or Ukip.

However, there have been questions over the leadership of Bennett, who performed poorly in an LBC radio interview where she struggled to articulate the details of policies. She later blamed this on having a cold and suffering from “brain fade”.