Redhill Green Councillor Jonathan Essex will be speaking at the launch of the Surrey Climate Commission today, alongside some of the county’s leading climate experts.

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This week, the Surrey Mirror asked local politicians to comment on the question: How can Councils best improve issues around Social Housing? Jonathan Essex, Green Councillor for Earlswood & Whitebushes, responded:

Housing policy and funding are in a right mess. House prices in Surrey are unaffordable for most people, and there is a desperate shortage of socially rented homes.

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This week, the Surrey Mirror asked local politicians to comment on the question: Are healthier lifestyles less achievable for families on a lower income?  Sue Fenton, newly-elected Councillor for Earlswood & Whitebushes, responded:

Former Work & Pensions Secretary Ian Duncan Smith famously claimed he could live on £53 benefits a week, despite shortly after trying to charge taxpayers £39 for just one breakfast. Many guides exist to living frugally, but can the poorest children not just survive, but reach their potential in modern Britain?

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This week, the Surrey Mirror asked local politicians to comment on the question: Has the rise in council taxes affected residents in our area?  This is my response:

Simply put – yes. Council taxes for Surrey County Council, local councils and police funding have all increased, hitting the poorest hardest. Taxes for the largest Surrey mansion are just three times higher than for the smallest flat. Instead, Greens would replace council tax with land value tax – a much fairer representation of wealth.

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This week, the Surrey Mirror asked local politicians: What additional support can be offered to young people during exam season? Here’s my response.

Recent curriculum changes mean students are now sitting more exams than ever, beginning at age six. Children, teachers and counselling services like Childline report that exam stress is mounting rapidly, and nearly 80% of school leaders warn that anxiety and panic attacks have increased as a consequence.

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Five of the six Green Councillors: L-R Steve McKenna, Hal Brown, Sue Sinden, Ruth Ritter and Jonathan Essex

We’re celebrating big wins in this week’s local elections.

We now have six councillors on Reigate & Banstead Council, where the whole council was re-elected following boundary changes.

We won all three seats in Earlswood & Whitebushes, where we previously held one. The ward is now represented by Hal Brown, Ruth Ritter and Sue Fenton.

And we won all three seats in Redhill East, where Sue Sinden joins Jonathan Essex and Steve McKenna on the Council.

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Today the Surrey Mirror is publishing opinions on the voting system. Here’s mine:

Our first-past-the-post electoral system still favours the main parties.

But so many people I talk with on the doorstep say they are fed up with the main parties. They want their voices to be heard at all levels of politics.

Proportional representation – an electoral system where every vote counts – could transform our politics.

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This week, the Surrey Mirror asked for opinions on the question: ‘A percentage of the council tax increase has been ear-marked for Social Care, is it enough?’ This is my response.

It’s not enough and it’s the wrong approach.

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On 2 May, the whole of Reigate & Banstead Council is up for re-election following some changes to ward boundaries. You will have the chance to vote for three councillors to represent you – Please vote for the three Green candidates

Your poll card will tell you which ward you are in and where your polling station is. And you can read about what we’re standing for here.

• Earlswood & Whitebushes
• Redhill East
• Redhill West & Wray Common
• Other wards across Reigate and Banstead

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Surrey County Council has rejected a Climate Emergency motion [1], which would have meant putting plans in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make Surrey carbon neutral by 2030.

Green County Councillor Jonathan Essex, who proposed the motion, said: “It’s very disappointing that Surrey County Council has refused to join Councils around the country who have committed to tackle the climate emergency we face. The Conservative majority in Surrey are congratulating themselves on what’s already been done – but a change of pace is needed. If councils around the world take the position that Surrey councillors have taken today, we have no hope for the future at all. It’s an abdication of responsibility.”

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