My name is Graham Reid. I am 77 years old and retired. In my working life I have been a printer, joiner and then a postal worker.
I became interested in environmental issues in the 1970s but didn’t join the Green Party until 1991. Since then I have become a life member. I stood for the Green Party in the 2015 Parliamentary Election, also in Hazel Grove.
One of the underlying principles of the Green Party philosophy is that all human activity must be indefinitely sustainable, yet humans pollute the planet with ever increasing mountains of waste, most notably of plastics which are not biodegradable. The burning of fossil fuels is the main contributor of climate change. We are deforesting, overfishing and over populating the planet. We are the biggest threat to life on earth. I believe we are a part of Nature, not separate from it, nor superior to it.
The Green Party is not only concerned with the environment. Our second main policy is social justice. In a country that is one of the richest in the world, it is disgraceful that over 20% of the population are at or near the poverty level. That over one million people are waiting for council housing. That there is lack of social care.
This country is in a bad way. Successive governments have failed to deal with the underlying issues of the day. The Green New Deal would provide a sound foundation on which to build our future.