UPDATE: Interview with Green Party candidate...

L’Anne Knight, Green Party candidate for North Devon in the 2010 general election.

IN THIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:“You have to vote where your heart is and I have got past this tactical voting scenario and had enough of it”/ “We are a single issue party but not the issue perceived by the general populace”/ “We are in one of the windiest spots in the world and we could do so much more”/

Question: How and why did you become involved in politics?

I always had a strong sense of injustice. I can remember as a teenager being so upset about what was happening in the world.

My mother belonged to the Peace Pledge Union.

When I met Ricky (a Green Party parliamentary candidate in Bristol this year) when I was 13 that started to kick in because he was from a political background of anti-nuclear campaigning and socialist principles.

He and I got together and went through the 1960s when you were impassioned, spoke out, and demonstrated and you did your thing to try to make change for the better.We became active some 30 years ago with the North Devon peace group which led towards the Green Party.

Question: The perennial question people will ask is: why vote for a candidate who has no chance of winning?

You have to vote where your heart is and I have got past this tactical voting scenario and had enough of it. I’m standing because I need to give people in North Devon the opportunity to vote Green.It’s the only way we’re going to make change in this dinosaur system.

Question: Generally, and more than ever, you could argue, issues which were once the preserve of the Green Party have been adopted by the mainstream, not least in terms of climate change; have they not stolen your thunder?

It’s a dual-edged sword. I like to think we have been a watchdog.On the other hand I’m pleased they are listening and are at least taking it on board. It grates a bit when you hear people using the word green when it really is our platform, but I’m relieved.The problem is: put your money where your mouth is. Are they just giving it lip service?

Question: Your manifesto contains policies on many other things, not just the environment. One of those is about jobs and living wage. Can you explain what that means?

We are a single issue party but not the issue perceived by the general populace; I think we are the single issue of sustainability and that covers every topic you care to mention.We want to raise the minimum wage to £8.10 and search for equality in our community.

That living wage will also be reflected in our taxation policies.We would set income tax at 50% for incomes over £100,000.

You tax people for the value they subtract, not the value they add, to the community, and that’s what we need to look at.

We need to look at the greedy grabbers and tax them.The essence in all this is the green new deal, which is about providing a million jobs which are going to benefit the environment, (and) look towards renewable energy, look towards housing and insulation.

Question: The question of nuclear energy. The likes of James Lovelock are saying the only way we can provide our energy needs and retain any form of civilisation as we know it is through nuclear.

I am very much anti-nuclear energy. I don’t think we know enough about it yet and I think we are taking risks with this venture.

We need renewables and I wish they had put more R&D into renewables decades ago.When I was really young we were told the energy would be “too cheap to meter”.Renewables will give pound for pound better value.

Question: Can I ask for your views on wind power?

I was very much involved in the campaign for local wind power. You have to be circumspect in terms of where they are put and how they are planned and I do think we have been held up by a vested interest perspective.

Wind power has to happen, it is happening, but it is part of a collective of ways forward with renewable energy, be it tide turbines, the wave, or the sun.

The sun is going to be brilliant; we can access sun from North Africa and bring it up through a grid through Europe.

We are in one of the windiest spots in the world and we could do so much more. We have to encourage people to go this way, to use them.

I think it’s very sad that people have been so anti-wind turbines with some very spurious arguments about bats and so on.Now we have the off-shore development happening and I’m very happy to hear it.

Question: A lot of the campaigning so far has been about the cuts in the public sector as a result of the financial problems. What is your take on that?

I think our cuts would come from knocking Trident into touch, from knocking the ID cards into touch, from various aircraft manufacturing that would be knocked into touch.

The NHS computerisation is a load of nonsense; they need to rationalise on that.We could pull out of the Afghan war.

There would also be a Robin Hood tax.There’s loads of other places to make cuts if only people would go there.

Yes, we would want to reduce the deficit but not straight away because that could impact on recovery.We would aim for half of the deficit being cut by 2013.

Question: Affordable housing is a large and often hidden problem in North Devon. What would the Greens do to help people buy or rent homes?

Our policy is we would want affordable housing, we need to make sure that all housing is very well insulated and environmentally-friendly. It helps the planet and it helps people with their bills.

We would like to make better use of existing housing. In the country there are 750,000 empty houses. To have homes standing empty while people are homeless is an absolute disgrace.We would minimise the use of green field sites.

Question: What is your view on the regional spatial strategy and the council joint core strategy, plans for lots of housebuilding?

I think it’s got to be very carefully done. Let’s look at what we already have in existence before we put up new builds. There are still green jobs there for builders doing renovation and insulation and so on and micro-renewables.

Question: Your party is making much of its plans on pensions. Can you outline what that might mean in practice?

We do feel it’s so crucial that people do have a good living wage as pensioners. Our proposal is £170 a week, £300 for a married couple.We would abolish tax relief on private pension contributions and it would be non means-tested.We have budgeted for it and seen how it could be done.

Question: How would electing you improve the lives of people in North Devon?

I would be there to make a sustainable, caring community, where well-being was absolutely crucial.

I would want to work with young people to not be so disillusioned about the future that they can make a difference.

Two things that really, really get me are people’s anger about taxation and about politicians and they are crucial for a fair society.If you have a more equal society you have a happier society, it’s been proven.Then, not to leave North Devon. We have to look locally, we have to work locally, to try to and build up our communities locally, and enjoy that.

Question: Can I ask you about the threat of climate change?

If you’ve got cancer, what do you do? It might be so far gone you just roll over and die but on the whole most people will do something about it. I say to everybody: don’t take it lightly, let’s do what we can and even in the doing we will be improving our environment.