UPDATE: Interview with Green Party candidate...

Interview with Cathrine Simmons, general election 2010 Green Party candidate for Torridge and West Devon.

IN THIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:“I’ve always been socialist”/ “We used to have a good public transport system before everybody owned a car so we can go back to that”/ “We think the balance between home and work has been disproportionately tipped towards the job and it’s taking people over”/ “I think we need to stop these large numbers of house building”/ “We also want to create a million green jobs across the country”

Question: Can I ask you how and why you became involved in politics?

Many years ago, in 1982, I went to Braunton and saw Jonathan Porritt. He was inspiring to listen to and there was a small, burgeoning green party but it was called the Ecology Party. I’ve always been socialist, really, without wanting to be involved with the Labour Party.

Question: Why vote for a candidate who has no realistic chance of winning?

In 1989 we had Peter Christie in the European elections and he got 50% of the vote. Because of that the other parties became much greener and started to take green policies much more seriously.

If we can get enough Green votes I think it makes the other parties greener.I don’t mind if the Green Party disappeared tomorrow if we got what we wanted out of it.

If we had started putting some of our Green Party policies into practice 20 years ago we would have had a different scenario now and probably wouldn’t have such serious carbon emissions and a lot less fuel poverty and everyone would be better off because they wouldn’t be spending large amounts of their income on fuel.

I think it’s sad that things have been allowed to slide by the other parties and we need to send a clear message that it’s really important.

Question: More than ever you could argue that policies which were once the preserve of the Green Party have now moved into the mainstream, particularly climate change. Could you not say in some ways the other parties have stolen your thunder?

They have marginally but they don’t go anywhere near as far as us.We want to end the road building programme and that would save money.

We want the road tax to be put into public transport.We used to have a good public transport system before everybody owned a car so we can go back to that.

Driving yourself to work every day is quite a tedious job. I share with somebody.But we just don’t want to spend all our money on fuel.

Question: Jobs and a “living wage” is one of your central policy themes. Can you explain in practical terms what that means?

We think the balance between home and work has been disproportionately tipped towards the job and it’s taking people over.

We want to up the minimum wage and provide a better income for pensioners and a citizens wage is what we’re aiming for.

What irritates me is that people who pay people on the minimum wage are being subsidised by the taxpayers through working tax credits and other benefits.

Question: Can you tell me how the Green Party would tackle the severe pressures on the economy?

We’ve got quite a few things we would save money on, for instance Trident.

We would end all nuclear weapons and we want to have fewer weapons as well.

That would cut the defence budget substantially.

If we had the troops out of Afghanistan, that’s costing millions a day.

(Cutting the) roadbuilding programme, troops out of Afghanistan, end of Trident, and we would increase tax to those on higher wages as well.That’s not the whole list, but those are some of the ways.

Question: Affordable housing is a huge problem in this constituency. How would the Green Party help people to have better and more affordable housing?

That’s something I’m an expert on, because that’s what I do for a living.

I think we need to stop these large numbers of house building for everybody and it should be proper housing needs surveys carried out so we’re building for local people, at an affordable level.

I know it will take some subsidy but I think the great growths in the towns has been very unpopular.We also need to get our empty homes back in use. There’s hundreds of those in Torridge and West Devon.

Question: We’ve had this massive house price bubble. Would the Green Party take economic measures to bring the overall cost of housing down?

I think that’s very expensive and I’m not sure there’s enough money, especially with the deficit, to do that.

I think it would be impossible. I think we have to let market forces take its place.A personal policy, which isn’t in the manifesto, is that second homes should have to apply for planning permission.

Some villages in the South Hams are 50% second homes now which is just ridiculous and it’s destroying our villages.

I would like to have some quota system, like they have in Austria, which seems to work, or a planning requirement, so that pretty parts of Britain don’t get their house prices pushed up.

Question: Your party is making a lot out of its plans on pensions. Can you outline those?

We want to end pension credits because a lot of pensioners don’t claim it and we want to up the pension level to £170 for single people and £300 for couples and we think that would give pensioners a good income.

Question: And that’s a costed plan?

Yes. By increasing income tax for the higher earners, over £100,000.

Question: Can you address the image problem the Green Party has in some quarters, in the sense you are seen as a one-trick pony?

I know that is a problem but our manifesto doesn’t dwell all the way through on climate change and green policies.

It does talk about we want to safeguard the NHS. We want to make a living wage.We want to try to close the gap between the rich and the poor.

And we want to make more social justice. I know people feel very strongly against the bankers and their bonuses and people are hopping mad about that and they feel very unfairly treated, and I think they’re right.

We also want to create a million green jobs across the country. We’re not a one-trick pony and I don’t think we ever have been, actually.

Question: How would electing you improve the lives of people in Torridge and West Devon?

It would be a voice for Torridge. I’ve lived in Torridge for nearly 40 years so I know the area really well.

I’ve been a local councillor.

If I was elected I would unusual so my head would be above the parapet and I would want to raise the profile of Torridge and West Devon throughout the country so it was a place to come and visit.