The local elections in May 2023 are a chance to take a stand, to unleash the power of fresh, community-focused thinking, to make our lives better and to vote Green.
Plymouth now has 3 elected Green Councillors and this year you have the opportunity to elect more!
We are standing candidates across the city in all 19 wards up for election on 4 May 2023.
Look up your ward to read about your local Green candidate:
Across England, communities are suffering. Cuts devastate local services, the cost of living crisis continues to deepen and corporate profit-seeking threatens the environment. Library opening times shrink, vital green spaces are destroyed, healthcare waiting lists grow ever longer, potholes deepen and street lights dim. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Plymouth elected its first Green councillor in 2022. Since then, we have already made a real impact in our city, demanding an independent review into the Armada Way fiasco, pushing forward on our 2030 net zero ambitions and delivering for our residents locally. We have proven the difference Green councillors can make in a short space of time, but we know that with more elected, we can make an even bigger impact.
In the wake of the climate emergency and a debilitating cost-of-living crisis, Plymouth Greens will create a fairer, greener future for Plymouth where we can all afford to live, work and enjoy our Ocean City. Only the Green Party will deliver the transformative change the city needs.
We believe in listening to residents and trusting local people with the power to transform their lives and the places they love - by giving residents more say in how our city is run, a situation like Armada Way won’t ever happen again. Change is possible in Plymouth — vote Green for a fairer, greener future.
Against the backdrop of many national crises ranging from food security to energy, climate to housing and inflation, locally, the endless flip-flopping between Labour and Conservative administrations is failing to deliver for the people. Plymouth deserves real leadership and commitment to drive action and transformation in the city, the Green Party are ready and excited to take on the challenge.
Hosting a People’s Climate Assembly, inviting a city-wide series of conversations, events and provocations on how we can tackle the climate crisis as a city.
Ensuring that the council’s commitment to a 2030 net-zero goal is matched by real action, by strengthening the city’s 2030 Climate Strategy, investing in the skills and capacity required to do this.
Demanding that Plymouth City Council divests entirely from fossil fuels and changes their banking provider from Barclays.
Establishing a dedicated Climate Crisis and Environment Scrutiny Committee to directly tackle the climate crisis, as well as a Low Waste Working Group - both actively encouraging public participation.
Ensuring that the independent review into the Armada Way fiasco, which Green Councillors called for, delivers a transparent process that holds the council to account. As a result, we will also strengthen and create policy to protect our trees and improve our environmental safeguards.
Working to increase biodiversity in the city and manage council land in a way that helps the city reduce climate impacts with more tree planting, creation of meadows and wetlands, and an end to the use of energy-intensive chemicals
Creating a Green Business Support Fund to encourage the development of new green jobs.
All too often local government decisions feel that they are made a long way away from the communities that will be affected by them.
Decisions with huge consequences, such as the felling of trees in Armada Way, are made in closed rooms by a handful of people, with limited democratic accountability. We know the Council needs to rebuild trust after the damage of recent weeks.
A vote for the Green Party in May is a vote for putting control over decisions that affect our communities firmly in the hands of democratically elected councillors, and the communities they represent. We know that the more democratic participation in our decision-making there is, the better those decisions are and local communities will have more influence over those decisions.
Working to end the current cabinet system. This system gives too much power to a few politicians of one political party that make all the major decisions affecting an area - like the felling of the trees in Armada Way. We will replace this system with the more democratic committee system, where strategic decisions are taken by councillors working together across party lines.
Delivering more public participation in council policymaking and scrutiny processes so that council services are more transparent and match what people want to see.
Giving community councils a stronger voice in planning and public service provision to hand the future of local neighbourhoods to the people who live in them.
Plymouth should be a place where people are connected through walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport to essential services, community facilities and high quality green and blue spaces. Our public transport should be affordable and appealing because it's safe, easy and reliable. Our current transport system excludes many: disabled people, children and young people, and older people who too often find it difficult to get around our city, and many journeys by walking, wheeling and cycling are unappealing or unsafe because of road risks and hazards.
Creating a transport system which helps deliver a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, improves public health and wellbeing.
Establishing a network of interlinked green and blue spaces to ensure that all Plymouth residents are within easy walking or wheeling distance of high quality, nature-rich outdoor space.
Lobbying for free bus travel for people under 25, more affordable fares, bus shelters and increased services.
Engaging in consultations for a default 20mph speed limit on residential streets - with the view of cutting congestion, pollution and reducing road casualties.
Carrying out an accessibility review of our transport network and working with our partners to significantly improve accessibility across all aspects of the service.
Reviewing the process for blue badge applications to make it fully accessible.
Our lived environment has a huge impact on our daily lives. Ensuring our streets are clean, green and welcoming is an essential part of building healthy, sustainable communities. From reducing litter and fly-tipping to improving recycling and reducing waste, there are many steps we can take to make our neighbourhoods cleaner and more environmentally friendly.
Taking robust action to improve local neighbourhoods through a fly-tipping action plan, extra environmental wardens and robust action to tackle litter, graffiti, dog fouling and other local issues, including supporting community clean-ups.
Improving bin collections and recycling with a recycling action programme and urgently pushing forward to introduce household food waste collection.
Addressing the issues with garden waste collection and creating a circular community compost scheme.
Exploring the introduction of water fountains in central Plymouth to reduce the consumption of bottled water. We will seek to involve local artists in this to bring attention and city-wide pride in the scheme.
Working with local retailers to explore ways they can tackle litter, reduce food waste, embrace sustainable packing and practices.
Creating a planning system where local residents and communities are fully engaged in the decision-making process and which plays its part in tackling the climate and nature crises and ending poverty.
Supporting policies that centre on community regeneration and oppose policies which extract wealth and resources from the poorest groups and communities.
Reviewing planning policies on tree felling and tree planting, to ensure that trees are protected against removal wherever possible, and that new developments over a certain size must contribute towards nature-based solutions that sequester carbon.
Ensuring that the council takes an “infrastructure first” approach to developments, so they are designed and constructed with integrated and community shared low carbon heating, such as district heating networks.
Exploring ways to ensure that derelict and neglected land is brought back into use, and support “meanwhile” uses such as temporary parks or green spaces.
Introducing a local ban on fracking. Though fracking is unlikely in our area, we believe this sets an important point of principle to highlight public opposition to fracking.
Strengthening protections for our waterways, ensuring that our vital blue spaces are clean and safe to enjoy.
Championing local businesses and look to reduce rates on empty city centre premises for local small businesses, to support a flourishing local economy.
The current government has presided over the worst housing crisis in living memory. At present house building is to meet market demand, not local need.
Introducing greater control and intervention in the rental market to crack down on bad landlords and improve standards across all tenures, and lobby the government to bring forward the national EPC rating deadline for landlords.
Lobbying the central government to fund the provision of new social housing.
Encourage the early adoption of the Future Homes Standard 2025 for properties being built in the city to reduce their carbon footprint from the outset.
Utilising brownfield sites for new housing rather than our green spaces and ensuring that such sites are not left undeveloped for many years or developed into luxury flats and expensive student accommodation, which do not address the real local need.
We will review the council’s planning enforcement processes to ensure that developers deliver on all conditions of their planning permission, and planning breaches are swiftly and effectively dealt with.
We will push for Plymouth’s derelict buildings and shops to be brought back into use, including those above shops in the city centre.
Working to urgently address the dental health crisis in Plymouth and work with partners to reduce waiting times across the city.
Rigorously campaign to persuade the UK Government to match growth in local population sizes with greater NHS investment.
Lobbying the UK Government to ensure that mental healthcare has parity with physical healthcare, and call on greater mental health provisions for our veterans.
Establishing Plymouth as a Period Positive City and working to eradicate period poverty.
Reducing the overall cost of healthcare by building a healthier society, tackling air pollution, reducing the stress and stigma of unemployment, reducing inequality and overcrowded housing and ensuring that everyone can have access to healthy, affordable food.
Commissioning Plymouth’s first accessibility review to identify ways we can make the city function properly for all residents.
Opening or refurbishing public toilets where they are most needed, and ensuring they are accessible to all.
Supporting policies that empower marginalised groups, help local communities thrive, and protect our green spaces.
Pushing for gender parity and access provisions to be front and centre in the planning process, ensuring that streets are well-light, safe and accessible with good transport links and local services.
Transforming Plymouth into a city where our cultural, leisure and sports facilities are accessible and affordable to all and represent the wealth of interests, talent, and experience that exists in our diverse city.
Secure protection for our libraries because libraries are more than books: they can be community hubs connecting people to the internet, providing space for community meetings and lifelong learning.
Every child should have the right to a top-quality and supportive experience in our education system. We can only do this by listening and responding to their ideas so it is time to give them more of a voice in our decision-making.
Ensuring that school staff, parents, and pupils have a greater say in how schools are run and reduce the costs of the school day for families.
Reviewing school travel plans and creating safe routes to school so that every child who lives within two miles of school is able to walk, wheel, scoot or cycle safely, including support for walking, buses and bikes.
Creating a city-wide school uniform policy which addresses affordability, accessibility, the needs of neurodivergent pupils, stigma, and environmental impact. We will also support uniform banks and re-use or lease/hire services, so that everyone can access what they need. This will include access to jackets and outdoor clothing.
Secure funding for the Council’s plan to retrofit the existing school estate.
Ensure the council’s Education Committee includes pupil and parent representatives.
Build a shadow youth council that will encourage young people to have a say in how the city is run.
Look up your ward to read about your local Green candidate:
