Young Green youngest candidate in GLA Elections

By Sam Coates - Posted on April 9th, 2008
Tagged: Elections

Aled Dilwyn Fisher, a final year LSE student of Modern History and International Relations is the Green Party’s candidate for the London Assembly election in the North East London constituency in the upcoming May 1st London Elections (covering Islington, Hackney and Waltham Forest).

The following statement is taken from his campaign group on Facebook:
WHY I'M STANDING

The Green Party are the only party that can deliver on the big issues facing London – like getting a Living Wage for all Londoners and an Olympics that doesn't scar the city. By voting for me, the Greens on the London-wide list and Siân Berry for Mayor, Londoners can slash transport costs, win workers a Living Wage and ensure that efforts to reduce climate change also tackle the social injustice that lies behind the ecological crisis.

Our current Assembly Members, with their casting votes over the Mayor's budget, have won millions of pounds for projects that reduce carbon emissions and fight social injustice. More Greens on the Assembly means more support for exploited workers who give so much to the capital, and communities defending local public services from attack

We have achieved some of our highest votes in the North-East constituency in he past and I aim to build on this. Since 2004, in local elections in 2006, in Islington we received 17% of votes and, in Hackney, we came 2nd to Labour, gaining 24% of the votes.

Voting for Siân Berry, our mayoral candidate and the youngest candidate for Mayor of London, is also vital. Siân has supported my campaign throughout and said, “Aled will be a tremendous candidate for the Greens and I am very pleased to join him in bringing our message of making London more affordable to London’s voters. He will represent the voice of hundreds of thousands of students in London and other young people whose have been left out of City Hall”.
MY EXPERIENCE

I joined the Green Party aged 17 after involvement in the anti-war movement, becoming inspired by the principles of ecology, social justice, peace and democracy. I am the youngest candidate in the whole London Elections at the age of 21 and I believe that students and young people in London deserve a strong voice to represent them in City Hall. I support extending student travel discounts to pay-as-you-go, as well as slashing transport costs overall. The Green Party also stands for free, publicly-funded education for all and universal grants – because education is a right, not a privilege. We oppose city academies that create a two-tier system of education.

At LSE, I've just been elected as General Secretary of the SU 2008-9 after spending two years as the SU Environment and Ethics Officer. I've been involved in successful campaigns to gain a Living Wage of £7.20 an hour for LSE cleaners and cleaners at Citigroup. I've been part of student-led campaigns that have seen LSE named the greenest university in London, and other campaigns including successful ethical investment initiatives. I've supported the twinning of the LSE SU with An-Najah, a university in Palestine, and I've been heavily involved in Palestine solidarity actions. I've campaigned with CND, Campaign against Climate Change, Amnesty, Stop the War, London Citizens and many more.
GREEN POLICIES – CHANGE LONDON FOR GOOD!
SUPPORTING WORKERS AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES

* All public employers to pay a living wage of at least £7.20 and robust pressure to be put on private employers to match this.
* Affordable business premises for local businesses in all new large retail developments.
* Opposing the sell-off of public services, privatization and City Academies.
* A Londonwide Youth Investment Fund to deliver training, leisure and support projects for young people.
* Support for workers co-operatives and local initiatives including credit unions, local exchange trading systems (LETS), community banks and time banks.

TRANSPORT

* Cuts to all bus fares and off-peak tube fares.
* Bringing the tubes and railways back into accountable public ownership and opposing any attempts to further privatise public transport.
* Student discount on public transport extended to pay-as-you-go.
* 20mph speed limits extended to save lives and create safer roads.

HOUSING

* Free insulation to every home that needs it.
* Increase the affordable housing requirement in the London Plan to 60%, and change the definition of 'affordable' to provide more rented homes and make sure they stay affordable
* Demand the write-off of housing debt so London can get building social housing again.
* Solar electricity and heating on 100,000 roofs in the city by 2015.

TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE

* Oppose airport expansion.
* Expand the Green Homes Service and create a Green Schools Service.
* Increase Climate Change Action Plan reduction target to 85% by 2025.

FIGHTING DISCRIMINATION, PROTECTING DIVERSITY

* Community-based policing, with a focus on restorative justice and tackling social exclusion.
* Ending Shoot to Kill and Stop and Search policies.
* Stamping out racist, homophobic, disablist, domestic and sexist violence.
* Proper funding for boroughs to meet the needs of asylum seekers.
* Support global justice, and opposition to arms trading and war - which lead people to flee their homes.
* Establish a London Youth Assembly and similar initiatives in each borough.
* Arts funding to benefit all Londoners; support the greatest possible diversity of art and cultural projects.

Support Aled by joining his campaign group on Facebook!