The Green Party have announced that Gill Westcott, a teacher and researcher, as their candidate for the Tiverton and Honiton Parliamentary by-election.
Gill lives near Crediton with her husband and has lived in Devon since 1992, first selling vegetables from an organic smallholding, and later teaching citizenship in schools and environmental issues in adult education.
Gill is also secretary of a Community Land Trust which has provided affordable homes for local people in her village.
‘The cost-of-living crisis is impacting thousands of households across the region’ Gill said. ‘Greens want help targeted at those in greatest need, and not just a one off. This is why we’ve repeatedly called not just for the restoration of the £20 uplift to Universal Credit but also doubling it to £40 – on a permanent basis. At the same time, house prices and rents across the region are through the roof. A Community Land Trust is one way of providing genuinely affordable homes.’
Gill is also calling for drastic changes to our energy system:
“We desperately need an energy policy that will boost production of cheap renewable energy, and enough funding to roll out a mass insulation programme of the UK’s cold and draughty homes. This is the way to cut energy bills and carbon emissions together – not giving huge tax reliefs for investment in oil and gas, fuelling a climate time bomb.“
She wants farmers and consumers offered protection from cheap imported food. She said:
‘There is a real danger of a race to the bottom on standards of food safety, environmental protection and animal welfare. We need to protect and celebrate farmers in our region who are producing high quality foods. We must put in place policies that support them to look after the countryside, increase soil fertility, sequester carbon and grow food in an environmentally safe way.‘
Gill is passionate about defending democracy and is scathing about the Conservative government’s record on this:
‘Unless we resist the erosion of our democracy we can’t expect to properly support people long term with the cost of living, or build a sustainable society. The government has shrugged off the breaking of its own rules and international law; it’s shackled the Electoral Commission that is meant to see fair play in elections, and made it harder for millions to vote. It’s starved local government of cash and blown billions on crony contracts. It’s shown a disregard for truth and has ignored the growing number of people dependent on foodbanks.
‘The Green Party wants a fair and proportional voting system where every vote counts. We need to see more citizens involvement in decisions, through processes like Citizen Juries and Citizen Assemblies.‘
Gill has two married sons and two grandsons. ‘I’m really grateful that they all live in Devon; for many of us who have families far away, it’s not so easy,’ she says.
Contact gill.westcott@greenparty.org.uk