By Cllr Rob White
With Labour now somewhere to the right of the Conservatives on immigration, we need to welcome and celebrate the people who make Reading their home.
Green Councillor Doug Cresswell says: “It is people who make Reading great, people from across the world who have come here, worked hard, loved their families, loved their communities, and made it great.
“The two old dinosaur political parties need to stop demonising immigrants and realise we are stronger together, not stronger apart.”
Green Party supports small businesses
For Small Business Saturday, Reading Green Party is calling on national government to implement a series of measures to help small and independent businesses and social enterprises green their operations, improve employee welfare and make it easier for people to ‘shop local’.
The measures include national government insulation grants for businesses, reform of business rates to incentivise greener business practices, an introduction of differential VAT rates in favour of small businesses, and an immediate suspension of Covid loan repayments
Local businesses and enterprises help bring diversity to Reading, providing it with a distinctive and unique character. They are also vitally important in providing jobs and keeping money circulating in the local area.
Greens campaigner Kate Nikulina wants more tree planting for a greener Reading
Trees bring many benefits ranging from wildlife habitat to boosting our mental health. With so many trees dying during the summer, Green campaigner Kate Nikulina says Reading Council’s tree ‘strategy’ doesn’t go far enough or fast enough towards more planting.
Kate says: “The council has a ‘tree strategy’ that isn’t really much of a strategy at all, but does at least highlights that we need more trees planted. Planting trees is no good if we lose a hundred each year, and we need those trees now, to grow and flourish, not saplings planted in 10 years time. What we’re seeing is hardly an emergency response. But there is a different way – a Green council would be out there now, planting for a greener future.”
Greens are the second largest party in Reading
Fortunately, there’s now real, constructive opposition to Labour on Reading council. Following the local elections in May there are now more Green councillors than Conservatives. There is a growing team of hard-working Green councillors standing up for residents across the town.
If you’re keen on being part of the change in Reading, get involved and help us make Reading fairer, greener and cleaner: reading.greenparty.org.uk/get-involved
By Green Party councillor Rob White, Leader of the main opposition group on Reading Borough Council and Park Ward councillor
