THE SCOTTISH Greens have unveiled their blueprint to kickstart a transformation to a net-zero economy with a “bold” manifesto.
The documents highlights vast investment in renewable energy and public transport as well as reforming tax, demanding another independence referendum and proposals to boost the number of teachers in Scotland’s schools.
Here are 10 bold policies included in the Scottish Greens’ Holyrood manifesto.
1. A plan to tax the super-rich
The Greens have set out proposals for a millionaire's tax – which the party say will “only apply to the wealthiest 10% in society”.
The plans would see a 1% levy on property, land, pensions, and other assets above the £1 million threshold.
Party leaders said it hoped both the UK Government and Scottish Government would implement the plans, adding that the scheme could be brought forward on a local basis.
2. A Covid windfall tax for pandemic profits
The Greens want companies that have seen profits soar during the pandemic to be subject to a one-off windfall tax.
The party said this levy could be enforced on major online retailers and large supermarket chains.
The proposals would allow for “rebalancing the economy” and support recovery in sectors that have been hit hard during the lockdown.
3. A frequent flyer levy
The Greens want to replace air passenger duty with a frequent flyer levy, once Scotland recovers from the pandemic.
The new charge would subsidise fares for longer distance rails from Scotland to England.
Under the plans, every passenger in Scotland will pay nothing for their first return flight in a 12-month period, with the levy incrementally rising for each additional flight after that. This would not apply to domestic flights linking the Highlands and Islands to the rest of the country.
4. Renewable energy revolution
The party wants to draw up plans to kickstart a tidal power revolution in Scotland – with a target of producing 1GW of energy form the technology by 2030.
The Greens want to ramp up renewable energy to boost jobs as Scotland emerges from the pandemic and widen the use of onshore wind power.
The party wants to double the size of Scotland’s onshore wind sector by installing about 200 turbines every year for a decade.
5. Independence referendum
The Greens have committed to a second referendum on independence being held in the next five years if a pro-independence majority is returned to Holyrood in May, but not before the pandemic has been resolved.
The party’s co-leader, Patrick Harvie, has stressed that it will be “politically untenable and an insult to our democracy” if Boris Johnson refuses to acknowledge a pro-indy mandate.
The party’s manifesto says that the terms of a repeat of the 2014 referendum, including the question and timetable “should be decided by a simple majority of the Scottish Parliament”.
6. More teachers and smaller class sizes
The Greens want to increase the number of teachers in Scotland’s classrooms by 10% - resulting in 5,500 additional permanent teachers being hired.
The expansion of the teaching profession would lead to class sizes capped at a maximum of 20 pupils, under the Greens’ plans.
The party also wants to scrap the standardised assessments currently carried out from P1 to S3, and increase the school age to seven, with kindergarten-style play-based learning put in place for youngsters from the age of three onwards.
7. Renew the railways
The Greens’ manifesto points to £3.2 billion plans the party wants to spend on public transport over the next five years.
The vision set out in the document is the first stage of a 20-year Rail for All strategy costing a total of £22 billion and creating 16,000 jobs.
8. Extending jobs guarantee to fossil fuels employees
The Greens want to expand young person's guarantee to all those under the age of 30s and “to those who work in fossil fuels industry” as part of a just transition away from the oil and gas sector.
The party will also “support partial replacement of corporation tax” with a carbon tax that “increases over time with our climate targets”.
9. Set up new national parks
The Greens want to use a £895 million fund to restore Scotland’s natural environment.
The manifesto stresses that legally-binding nature recovery targets should be drawn up alongside the exiting carbon reduction aims.
The fund includes £250 million for “more and better” national and regional parks with at least two new national parks and one new regional park being established under the party’s plans.
10. Bring forward a ban on new petrol cars
The Greens want to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2026 – six years ahead of the timetable already outlined by the Scottish Government, saying this would “make a major contribution to our climate goals and prevent deaths from air pollution”.
The manifesto also stresses that before 2026, “all public sector bodies will either have to procure zero emissions vehicles or explain why this is not practical on a case-by-case basis”.
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