The purpose of this report is to advance a much-needed debate about how to move the UK out of the counterproductive politics of austerity and into the age of the Green New Deal. This is a matter of utmost urgency. If it isn’t introduced rapidly, we are likely to enter another economic slump. A Green New Deal could be implemented now if the political will existed. It calls initially for a £50 billion a year investment programme to boost economic activity, in a way which provides jobs on a living wage in every community in the UK, while reducing our ecological impact.
What the Group say about the Green New Deal:
“The Green New Deal represents an economic detox diet to correct the consequences of the worst current financial, work place and environmental abuses.” says Green New Deal Group member Andrew Simms.
“It is crucial that government replaces destructive austerity policies that have created a low-investment, low-wage, heavily indebted, unbalanced ‘Alice in Wongaland economy’ with massive investment in a Green New Deal. Central to this must be the creation of real jobs that pay a living wage, helping to transform every corner of the UK while overcoming the present lack of sustainable and adequate effective demand in the economy. This could be financed, in part, by a form of ‘Green QE’: with government co-operating with the Bank of England via its money market operations, to create financial products at very low rates of interest to fund green infrastructure investment. This investment would, thanks to the multiplier, pay for itself.” says Green New Deal Group member, Ann Pettifor.
“A crackdown on tax dodging which we believe stands at £95 billion a year could fund the Green New Deal. A significant part of this could easily be recovered if H M Revenue & Customs had enough staff, and were backed by stronger laws. Further tens of billions could come from a programme of ‘Green’ Quantitative Easing to fund infrastructure and create jobs across the country” says tax expert and Green New Deal Group member, Richard Murphy
“There is huge, and as yet untapped, potential in renewable energy, energy and resource-use efficiency and the transformation of our transport system that would create high-quality jobs across the country and reduce the UK’s overall ecological impact. If we are serious about staying below 2C warming, as we have legal obligations to do, then to invest in a destructive Dash for Gas when there is a Green New Deal on the table borders on criminal negligence by my parliamentary colleagues” says Caroline Lucas MP.
The Green New Deal Group is, in alphabetical order:
Larry Elliott, Economics Editor, The Guardian,
Colin Hines, Convenor, Green New Deal Group and former head of Greenpeace International’s Economics Unit,
Tony Juniper, former Director, Friends of the Earth, Sustainability Advisor and Author,
Jeremy Leggett, founder and Chairman, Solarcentury and SolarAid,
Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion,
Richard Murphy, Director, Tax Research UK
Susie Parsons, Director, Lasting Transformation
Ann Pettifor, Director, Policy Research in Macroeconomics and former head of the Jubilee 2000 debt relief campaign,
Ruth Potts, Schumacher College
Charles Secrett, former Director of Friends of the Earth, and founder and coordinator of The ACT! Alliance
Andrew Simms, chief analyst, Global Witness and fellow of nef (the new economics foundation
email: hinescolin@gmail.com