In response to the government’s decision to raise the single bus fare cap by 50% from £2 to £3, this winter Nottingham Green Party has launched its Keep the Bus Fare Cap! campaign to make the case for affordable public transport. Our activists also continue to engage with several other campaigns that address the challenges, both local and global, that our city’s residents face.
By leading the campaign on bus fares across the East Midlands, and supporting campaigns on saving the city’s services, meaningful carbon reduction, and ending the war in the Middle East, together Nottingham Greens are supporting real solutions to diverse problems and calling for our elected representatives to step up.
As we continue to engage with community concerns, support is growing for the Green Party’s agenda of Real Hope, Real Change. Zack Polanski, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, said at this year’s party conference: “The people of this country are writing this story with us. Writing it in our community halls, on doorsteps, at the bus stops. Let’s keep rewriting it until everyone is included and everyone is empowered. Engagement is not just at election time, but all year round.”
You can read more about our winter community campaigns below.
Keep the Bus Fare Cap!
Following the Labour government’s 2024 Autumn Budget decision to increase the cap on single trip bus fares by 50%, we have launched a petition urging Clare Ward, East Midlands Mayor, to use her powers and make funding available to retain the cap at the current rate of £2. This decision would bring us in line with commitments made by her counterparts in Liverpool and Manchester. Raising the cap would seriously impact the weekly budgets of thousands of transport users in the city and the wider region while increasing car use.
Photo: Adam McGregor
Ben Gray, Co-Chair of East Midlands Green Party, chose to highlight this issue in his recent interview on Politics East Midlands, saying: “We should be investing in public transport and not punishing those who choose to use it. In Nottingham we have twice the number of people than the national average who rely on buses for work”.
You can sign the petition here.
Libraries for Nottingham’s Communities
Libraries have been an important part of our communities for over 100 years. They give everyone, no matter how poor, the opportunity to read, use computers, finish their homework and much more besides. Nottingham Green Party Treasurer Cath Sutherland said: “As a result of cuts to funding by the last Conservative government, Nottingham City Council lost over £1 billion of its allocated funding in recent years, and is looking at closing some libraries and cutting the hours of others right down. The Labour government is continuing this austerity, giving only a tiny increase in funding to local government in its first budget, instead of taxing the wealthy, especially the assets of the wealthy, to provide funding for basic services in our communities.”
Photo: With Permission
Nottingham Green Party has urged our supporters to respond to the public consultation on libraries in Nottinghamshire, and in our city we have been actively supporting the ‘Save Our Services 24’ campaign and its call for Labour-run Nottingham City Council to fight for more funding for our city. The consequences of continuing austerity that targets the poorest in our communities will be devastating, affecting not only libraries but community centres and other vital services that many rely on.
You can read more about Save Our Services 24 here.
Yes we CAN!
Once again the annual COP meeting is taking place. This will be the 29th meeting of the supreme governing body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and now more than ever it is important that commitments made are followed through, rather than become more empty sound bites. With tipping points critical and climate catastrophe imminent, now is the time to hold the government to account on actions that reduce our reliance on carbon and promote biodiversity. The Climate and Nature (CAN) Bill, which will progress through Parliament this winter, will ensure the UK meets emissions targets.
Many of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire’s elected MPs have yet to pledge their support for the CAN Bill. We urge them to show clear and public support for this vital legislation, and not defer to existing laws that continue to put profit before people and the planet.
You can find out more at the Zero Hour campaign website, including following their helpful guide to writing to your MP and urging them to support the CAN Bill. As António Gutteres, United Nations Secretary General, said at the COP meeting on 12 November, 2024: “Climate action is not optional, it’s imperative”.
Support for Palestine
The news coming from Gaza is heartbreaking and gets worse every day. Now we hear of a similar loss of civilian lives from Lebanon too. Nottingham Green Party members have been joining demonstrations, rallies and other activities that have been organised every week in Nottingham in protest of the continuing war and genocide.
Photo: Cath Sutherland
We have been informing our members and supporters of upcoming events that they can attend in support of the cause, from fundraisers to Palestinian Culture Day, and we encourage everyone to continue to demand more action to save the lives of Palestinian and Lebanese people. This country’s complicity in the war is not in our name, and the killing of innocent civilians, many of them children, must end.
Join us and help our efforts
Our winter campaigns build on the concerns of people across Nottingham, Gedling and Rushcliffe. Our members and supporters are the cornerstone of the Green Party’s determination to be the real change we want to see.
As the year ends, we are looking ahead to the Nottinghamshire County Council elections on 1 May 2025, where we will be growing the vote for hope and working together to empower our communities.
Let’s build a fairer, greener Nottingham and a better world together!