Media could revive UK democracy by spelling out what Greens are offering, says Jenny Jones

The Green Party has the most popular policies on public transport, the NHS, public services and job-creation - and the media will be doing British democracy a service if it reports all of this fully between now and the general election, one of Britain's top Greens tells Guardian readers today.

Jenny Jones, a London Assembly member and former deputy mayor of London, says in today's online Guardian:

"That the party which blazed new trails and pioneered joined-up thinking was caricatured as single-issue was against all logic, and against all the evidence. In fact it's one of the biggest ironies of modern British politics."

Now, she says, the media needs to present the full picture of the Green option facing the voters - because there are social and economic policies which only the Green Party is now offering, and which the public want to hear about.

In her comment piece, Ms Jones, who will contest the general election for Camberwell and Peckham against Harriet Harman, adds:

"Most of the time, most of the people get most of their information about politics from the mass media. It's a relief to see that the media has recently been giving more attention, for instance, to the Green Party's economic policies. Indeed, one highly respected journalist in the Daily Telegraph last week congratulated the Green Party for being ahead of the economic curve with its Green New Deal."

But, she added, the myth of the "one-issue Greens" has reappeared in the media even in the last few days.

Voters deserve to hear about the options - not just about three "increasingly similar and equally unappealing" parties

Jenny Jones said today: "Good democracy is based on good information. The voters deserve to be told about the options open to them in an election - not just about the increasingly similar policies of the biggest three parties.

"When the media gives 99 per cent of the coverage to just three parties, it's no wonder those parties win most of the seats. And when those parties are widely seen as equally unappealing, because they all have basically the same policies, it's no wonder so many people don't bother to vote."

She concluded: "The media could do British democracy a massive service. Let the voters see there is a very distinctive option in the form of the Green Party. The Greens are offering policies on transport and the NHS and the Royal Mail and job-creation that we know are popular - and it's not good for democracy that these policies are drowned out by over-reporting of Labour and the Tories."

The Liberal Democrats: Consistently Inconsistent About The Environment

"The Lib Dems know much more about pursuing the Green vote than about pursuing Green policies" says Green Party London Assembly Member Jenny Jones in a comment piece on the Guardian website today.

"The result of which is that Lib Dem policy pronouncements are marred y inconsistencies and they have a tendency to say one thing at national level and do something else at local level."

"For example, Norman Baker Lib Dem Transport Spokesman has been saying a Lib Dem government would stop spending on road building; but his colleagues in Lancashire are still supporting the Lancaster Northern bypass."

"The Lib Dems have spoken in favour of congestion charging nationally, but against it in Edinburgh, Manchester and York."

"They want a zero carbon economy by 2050 - in principle. But they have opposed windfarm proposals in Cornwall, Cumbria, Devon and Worcestershire."

"The Lib Dems have opposed the expansion of Heathrow, but have been happy to expand Birmingham, Carlisle, Exeter, Liverpool and Norwich airports. They were wildly enthusiastic about Manchester airport's second runway - except for the LibDems in Stockport, which lies under the flightpath."

"The Lib Dems know much more about pursuing the Green vote than about pursuing Green policies. In the "green tax switch" they announced last September, the LibDems promised to "cut income tax and switch to green taxes on pollution instead." No serious Greens would contemplate this."

"Can't blame people for losing faith in politics, " says top Green

Darren Johnson, chair of the London Assembly, today spoke out on the expenses row that has rocked British politics.

He said: "The MPs' expenses debacle has really undermined the public's faith in the political process and in politicians. And I can't say I blame people for losing faith. As a councillor and London Assembly Member I have always been used to operating under ultra-strict rules about what we can and can't claim for. So I'm utterly appalled at what many MPs have been allowed to get away with.

"With elections to the European Parliament coming up on June 4th I am sure many people are wondering whether it's worth bothering to vote at all. But that worries me. If the turnout is really low it makes it easier for the BNP to win a seat. So to decent people who cannot bear the thought of voting Labour, Conservative or Lib-Dem this time, I urge them to think about voting Green. Not only will this help elect more Green Party MEPs, it is also a positive vote for the future. As we said in our election broadcast - if you don't want things to continue as they are, if you think fairness, integrity and the environment belong in politics then think about voting Green."

The Green Party launched its Euro-election campaign this week with a manifesto designed to create a million UK jobs, slash carbon emissions, protect and improve public services and improve quality of life.

Green Party: London Assembly elects new Chair

Darren Johnson, a Green Councillor in the London Assembly since 2000, was elected today as the Chair for the next year at the London Assembly, with Jennette Arnold taking over the role of Deputy Chair.

Darren Johnson said:

"I am honoured to have been chosen by my colleagues to lead the Assembly in the year ahead and delighted to have this additional opportunity to serve Londoners. I believe the next twelve months will be a crucial time for the future of our city as we seek to pull out of recession and alleviate its impact on individual Londoners. Assembly Members will vigorously make the case for London to receive its fair share of resources from central government during these tough times."

"The coming year will also see the Mayor set out his detailed plans for the future development of London with a number of key strategies being published and refined, including transport, housing, economic development, planning and climate change mitigation and adaptation. The Assembly will continue to work to have a positive impact on the development of these strategies, identifying areas for improvement and monitoring the effectiveness and efficiency of their implementation."

Darren was elected to the London Assembly in May 2000. He was the first Green member on Lewisham Council and is now leader of the Council's six-strong Green Group. Darren has led investigations into a range of topics including the government's proposal for Heathrow expansion, plastic bags, loss of street trees and front gardens. He has also promoted measures to address low pay in the Capital and policies to protect vital local services.

All London homes to be offered free insulation and energy advice

Consistent campaigning for energy efficiency has at last been followed by action in the nation's capital.

The London Development Agency has proposed to offer free energy saving measures to every London home and Green Party member of the London Assembly Darren Johnson said today he was pleased that his consistent questioning and raising of the issue has paid off.

The announcement follows a major investigation by the London Assembly's Environment Committee, which chaired by Darren Johnson, which flagged up the success of a free insulation scheme in Huddersfield which is already delivering lower bills, reduced CO2 emissions and new jobs.

The new London scheme represents a major u-turn by the LDA who were previously planning to abandon home insulation work altogether. The scheme will offer:

* "Ten easy measures" free to all London households (3m total). These measures include: hot water tank insulation, draught proofing, radiator panels, low energy lightbulbs, standby switches etc. The anticipated take up is 1.3m homes and this should generate CO2 savings of 1.4m tonnes per annum.
* Installation of more major measures in 800,000 homes (including loft and cavity wall insulation, heating controls upgrade etc) yielding a further 720,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum. It is unclear at this stage whether this will also be free. The average cash saving to householders taking part in the scheme is estimated at £230 per annum.
* The scheme will be delivered via a street by street, door knocking approach as in Huddersfield.
Initial analysis and comparison with schemes outside London suggests that 2,200 additional jobs will be created as a result of the scheme and a major training programme is likely to be needed to ensure the availability of skilled labour from year (1).

Darren Johnson AM said today:

"Ever since the home energy saving scheme introduced by Ken Livingstone was set for cancellation by the new administration, I have been pushing Mayor Boris Johnson to turn his vague promises to help Londoners insulate their homes into a comprehensive and substantial programme. The new LDA proposals do just that.

"I am pleased that my proposal for a free London-wide scheme to cut fuel bills and save energy has been taken up. It is disappointing that progress was so delayed by wranglings between the LDA and the Mayor over who will pay. However, we now have the foundations of an excellent scheme and I will be pushing to ensure that both cavity wall insulation and loft insulation are also offered free of charge in order to maximise the benefits."

Mr Johnson, who is also the Green Party's national spokesperson on trade and industry, concluded that he would like to see the whole of the UK pursue the best possible programme of domestic energy-saving measures.

Party leader Caroline Lucas MEP will say in her speech to the party conference tomorrow (Friday 20 March) that a nationwide programme along these lines would generate almost 140,000 UK jobs.