Green Party members' conference report

In a packed programme, one of the major items was the passing of the health voting paper, which entirely updated our health policy. This added policies on patient empowerment, calling for a new model of patient-owned co-ops for GP practices, to end NHS subsidies for private healthcare, and breastfeeding. The policy now also includes approval, with appropriate ethical guidelines, for all types of stem call research. It was also generally "slimmed down", removing references to particular treatments and drugs.

A motion calling for a similar revamp of the science policy was also passed. A policy measure calling for scientists and technologists to have to take a pledge to protect the earth was dropped by this conference, and the animals and research policy was amended, retaining our ethical objections to animal research and noting medical concerns about the reliance on animal testing of human medicines.

In other policy areas, conference backed a call for a maxium wage policy that would ensure that the pay of the highest-paid person in an organisation should not exceed the lowest-paid by more than a factor of 10. It also backed a call for marriage equality that would allow same-sex civil marriage and for civil partnerships to be available to all.

A strong parental leave policy, providing up to 24 months of paid (at near-salary levels to a reasonable maximum) leave to be shared between new parents, although insisting that for this total to be achieved, at least six months of which must be taken by the parent taking less leave. A motion recording our support for the Pensioners' Manifesto and its £170/week pension was also passed.

and my meeting on climate change was packed and the speakers were fab, indignous and workers are remaking the world!