The Green Party has announced its manifesto ahead of the upcoming mayoral election for Greater Manchester after Labour’s Andy Burnham stepped down to run for MP in Makerfield and will likely be the next PM.
The party’s bold new manifesto aims to break from Burnham’s model, arguing it rewarded developers, priced ordinary people out of local homes, and funnelled investment into the city centre while leaving surrounding communities underfunded and chronically overlooked.
Coggins announced her new plan for change in Hulme alongside party leader Zack Polanski, co-deputy Mothin Ali and Gorton and Denton MP Hannah Spencer, powerfully stating:
We need real change, not more Labour tinkering around at the edges and putting up dodgy skyscrapers to enrich developers not the ordinary people of Greater Manchester.
Green Party real change to break “Labour’s failed model”
The political agenda put forward by the Greens appears focused on bringing hope, life, and energy back into Manchester which, despite Burnham’s self-gratifying prologues, has higher unemployment than the national average and high levels of deprivation with growing homelessness.
All the while, people are left without hope that anything will ever improve after false promises and chronic disappointments in leadership. In an effort to reach those who feel forgotten and left behind, with little hope for their futures, the Greens have announced that they will be focusing on affordable housing, making the region’s high streets busy and exciting again, and making access more possible for young people with free bus travel for under-22’s.
Coggins proudly spoke of what she has to offer to the communities of Greater Manchester:
I am proud to launch my plan today. If I am elected, I will take Greater Manchester back from big money.
People over profit, I pledge 20,000 genuinely affordable homes, free bus travel for our young people and will breathe new life into our struggling high streets.
We need real change, not more Labour tinkering around at the edges and putting up dodgy skyscrapers to enrich developers not the ordinary people of Greater Manchester.
Greater Manchester deserves better than Labour’s failed model and we must stop Reform at all costs.
Our vision of hope contrasts with Reform’s division and scapegoating of vulnerable people. In Greater Manchester, we are good neighbours not strangers.
If elected, she has committed to deliver 20k homes over a decade which are actually affordable for ordinary people. She says 10k of those would be bought, refurbished, and let out at affordable rates.
Alongside this, she has also pledged to tackle the wider renting crisis by pressuring Westminster to recognise the challenges renters face and introduce rent controls, which could extend the impact of these changes far beyond Greater Manchester. This will then allow Coggins to bring down rents across the whole of Greater Manchester.
Landlords may not like it, but soaring rents are pricing young people out of secure housing and far outpacing local housing allowance rates. This leaves many on low incomes or benefits having to use essential funds for survival to foot shortfalls, whilst seeing others lose the lion share of their wages to private rents.
Coggin’s also spoke alongside three members of the local manifesto team – Ryan, Lottie, and Vaishali:
£10m fund for high streets with local groups prioritised
The Greens say Labour’s plan under Burnham has failed ordinary people. While hard-working residents face rising costs, they point out how developers cash in on luxury flats that most people could never afford.
All the while, there has been a woeful lack of investment in the wider region, leaving many feeling forgotten and high streets increasingly bare. Coggins intends to address this by investing £10m in supporting high streets, and said she will work with local councils and community groups to take over shops giving them a real foothold in the local area.
Sure to help the high streets further is the commitment to provide free bus travel for young people under 22 years old, who the hopeful Green mayor says are among the hardest hit by the cost-of-living crisis. By taking their travel costs away, this will open up access and opportunity for young people, whilst reducing the harmful impacts of isolation.
Polanski, Green Party leader, has Coggins back as he said:
Geraldine has a vision for a Greater Manchester that works for everyone. Genuinely affordable housing. Tackling the rampant inequality that blights this city. Giving everyone who lives here a say in how things are run.
But Geraldine is also ready to take the fight to Westminster – using her voice to demand real change from the government when they try to get away with half-measures or turn their backs on the people they were elected to represent.
Geraldine is ready to hit the ground running – and she’s here to stay. She’s been representing Trafford for eight years and she’s got a plan to make bold, rapid change – and set Greater Manchester up for the long term.
Greens say ‘no’ to big money
One thing is certain: the refreshing manifesto put forward by the Green Party’s Coggins in her campaign to become Mayor of Greater Manchester is an exciting one. It is sure to leave many local renters and young people feeling that they might finally stop bearing the burden of a society that is crumbling around them. All the while, the rich continue to get richer.
Whether those promises are ultimately kept, however, will depend on Coggins and her party being held to their word. They have criticised other parties for failing to do exactly that, so it is only fair to expect them to set a higher standard by not only honouring their commitments but delivering on them.
People have needed real change for decades, but the urgency has never been greater than it is today.
Featured images via Cameron Baillie
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