Alex Mace

@alexmace.bsky.social

1473 Followers 2140 Following

Green Party City Councillor for St Stephen ward, Worcester Co-Leader of Green Group, Worcester City Council Published and promoted by Clare Wratten on behalf of the Green Party, both at 40 Foregate Street, Worcester, WR1 1EE

Dear Editor, I would like to congratulate Andy Burnham MP on winning the Labour leadership contest and becoming our new Prime Minister. To win the nomination of 379 of 403 Labour MPs is an impressive achievement and a strong vote of confidence in his abilities as a leader. I have noted that our Labour MP, Tom Collins, is one of just 24 Labour MPs not to have nominated Andy Burnham - I’m sure his constituents here in Worcester would like to hear his concerns about the new Prime Minister that have led to him withholding his nomination. Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff has admitted that Labour had no plan for Government after winning the 2024 election. My concern is that by changing Prime Minister mid-term, there is still no long term plan to improve the lives of Worcester constituents, and that Tom Collins knows this too. We need to urgently see published plans for this Parliament to cut energy bills and improve our energy independence through renewables. We need plans to adapt homes and offices to climate change. We need plans to build council homes and introduce rent controls to deal with the affordability of housing, so that our young people can live good, independent lives in their own homes. We need a plan to strengthen local accountability in planning, not allow developers to destroy nature with no scrutiny. We were promised change. Where is the plan to deliver it? Councillor Alex Mace Worcester Green Party
Worcester and other areas that do not yet have regional Mayors are missing out again in the Prime Minister’s announcement that Mayors are getting a share of income tax and a bigger share of business rates. We need this flexibility now and we cannot afford to wait - Worcester has over 4,000 households on its housing waiting list, and contains some of the most deprived areas in England. Our county council is teetering on the brink thanks to Conservative and Reform mismanagement. It seems Labour are now also showing they don’t care about Worcester. Stop the obsession with Mayors and give the resources to Worcester and all the parts of the country that need it, now.
It is good news that the new Prime Minister has removed VAT from electricity prices. It shows that he recognises that the cost of living crisis needs urgent action. However, removing VAT will benefit the most well off and biggest users the most. The £850m cost would have been better spent removing standing charges and providing households with a quota of free energy, so the most in need got the biggest help. We need to go further and faster on decarbonising our economy. Yet again the Exchequer is spending hundreds of millions protecting people from the costs of fossil fuels. Reports that the Prime Minister will approve more drilling in the North Sea shows a lack of commitment to protecting people from climate damage and high energy costs in the long term.
Trump and co
Highlight quote: “The Council is not identifying and delivering savings in line with the scale of its budget requirements”
A graph of GE polling: Reform on 32%, Greens on 17%, Conservatives on 16%, Labour on 16%, Liberal Democrats on 12%
Projected result in Worcester, showing Reform on 27%, Greens on 24.6%, Labour on 20.1%, Conservatives on 16.5% and Liberal Democrats on 10.9%
Captain America (labeled “Green Party”) passes Falcon (labeled “Conservative Part”) in a scene from Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Bar chart, Reform on 32%, Conservatives on 17%, Greens in third on 15%, then Labour on 15%, Liberal Democrats on 12%, Others on 4%, SNP on 3%, Plaid Cymru on 1%
Green Party membership in Worcester is up 25% in a month.