Green Party manifesto for the Greater Manchester Mayoral election

Will Patterson, Green Party candidate for Greater Manchester Mayor

Will Patterson launched the Green Party Mayoral manifesto detailing the requirement for better housing, transport and air quality across Greater Manchester on Monday 10 April. 

The Green Party's Mayoral candidate has put forward a "radical plan" to tackle Greater Manchester's housing crisis.

The five-step plan aims to tackle homelessness, to protect renters and to bring empty homes back in to use.

He wants homeless shelters that closed in 2015 to reopen, but added that simply giving people a bed for the night isn't good enough. Patterson said people who have fallen on hard times need security and stability.

The current model expects homeless people with substance misuse issues or mental health problems to show improvement before they become eligible for housing, and Patterson says this model is failing.

He added: “I also want to improve conditions for people who are renting - creating a Greater Manchester Renters' Union to support tenants and campaign for renters' rights."

Patterson's plans to create Citizens' Forums, where local residents can take part in debates on issues that directly concern them and get their voices heard by those in power.

Addressing the serious democratic deficit of George Osborne’s 'Devolution Agreement', he called for the creation of a Greater Manchester Assembly, modelled on the London Assembly which is elected under the proportional representation voting system and holds the mayor to account.

The manifesto launch also included ideas for public transport, with plans to extend the Metrolink Network through an 'outer circle' connecting the towns of Greater Manchester, and through new lines to connect Bolton, Stockport and Wigan to the network.