The Greens are nothing more than Militant in sandals

Here in Liverpool we know all about political absolutists, who driven by their unbending ideology, leave a trail of destruction behind them.

And I’m reminded of Militant the more I read about the Green Party. 

They have gotten away for years with being a fringe party of seemingly well-meaning eco-warriors. But as they begin to push the Liberal Democrats into fifth place, it is important there is a light shone on them and that people understand the implications of their dangerous, naïve and unworkable policies.

We only have to look to Brighton Council – the only place they have ever run – to see the almighty mess they’ve made over the past few years, with more strikes and strife than ever before.

When they are not trying to ban bacon sandwiches or force staff to use unisex toilets they are failing in the delivery of key services and have, ironically, one of the worst recycling rates in local government.  That’s why they are expected to be trounced in the local elections

Here in Liverpool and elsewhere they want us to introduce signs with “nuclear free zones” in their attempt to publicise their policy of unilaterally scrapping Trident. That’s the Greens: more bothered about pipe dreams and fixating on marginal issues than dealing with the 58% cuts our city has had to endure at the hands of ConDem ministers. 

At the last Mayoral Select Committee here in Liverpool, the only question they asked was whether I was in favour of cancelling Trident. No mention of any of the enormous budget challenges the city faces.

Theirs is a politics of opposition and opportunism. I would urge anyone seriously considering voting Green to have a look at their website and try to work through the implications of what they promise. 

As for their local Liverpool website, it’s been advertising for a member of staff and makes it clear that they want someone who is capable of organising “stunts”.  Liverpool’s problems cannot be solved by “stunts,” neither can we fund the libraries, children’s centres, leisure centres or social care with “stunts”.

They have voted to introduce a seven per cent council tax rise and opposed our plans to support businesses in the city and drive growth.

They propose to give people a £72 per week whether you want it or not and take away your tax allowances costing you more, something they have now spotted and are attempting to change.

And they want to raise the age that kids start school to seven, although they say this is voluntary. The problems this would cause, just in terms of the allocation of school places, would be unmanageable, as well as costing parents a fortune in childcare.

In addition, they will scrap all faith schools: Catholic, Church of England, Jewish alike. 

This is particularly important in Liverpool as 42% of our primary schools are faith schools, as are 57% of our secondary schools. Their ethos and history would be wiped out at once on the altar of green ideology. 

Their education spokesperson, Ms Samantha Pancheri, speaking in the Guardian, says “no school run by a religious organisation should be state-funded”. No longer would St Julie’s, St Hilda’s, St Vincent’s and all the rest exist.

But the loss of faith schools in our city would have a devastating effect on education. The partnership between faith groups and the education authority has been something we are proud of and together we have helped deliver education standards that parents want.

Everyone in Liverpool who sends their children to a faith school needs to think hard about what the Greens’ policy will mean for their child’s education and their community.  Schools will change, affecting the communities they are based in, but also lose the volunteers and money that faith communities provide.

At the same time, the Greens plan to legitimise membership of vile organisations such as ISIS. So it would be ok to fund and support those who kill and maim innocent people but not to attend a church school? You just couldn’t make it up.

As I say, in Liverpool we remember the damage caused by those who put their extreme ideology before common sense and delivering decent services and running a successful economy. The Greens are nothing more than Militants in sandals.