Election time is creeping closer and closer. Candidates across the UK are bracing for the results – whether they will have been successful in getting elected or failed to win over the voters. In some parts of the UK, voters will be deciding who their mayor is. For the people of York and North Yorkshire, this will be the first time they have voted for their own, directly elected mayor. Six candidates are standing, including one for the Green Party.
The Green Party’s growing success at successive local elections has contributed to its influence in local government. The concerns about climate change across the country are ones that the Green Party have used to build support. Alongside this, its positioning of itself as a left-wing alternative to the Labour Party has attracted supporters and members who previously supported Labour prior to Keir Starmer’s election as Labour Leader.
To win the York and North Yorkshire Mayoral election may be a difficult challenge for the Greens as they haven’t previously won a mayoral election. However, with some feeling discontent towards the two main parties, could they potentially win their first mayoral election?
I caught up with Kevin Foster, the Green Party’s candidate, to find out.
Meeting the Green Party’s candidate, Kevin Foster
The first question I asked Kevin was what made him want to stand in the first place?
“I want to make things better for my community and for the whole of York and North Yorkshire”, he began, “That’s why I first stood as a councillor and it’s what drives me. As a region, we have some big challenges, but I think I can make a difference with a fresh approach compared to what is on offer from the same old parties with stale ideas who have been in control here for far too long.”
Other than his party affiliation, I wondered what Foster felt made him stand out from the other candidates in the election?
“I’m experienced, I’m hard-working, and I have a track record that proves I’m effective. I’ve already made a full-time commitment to serving my community as a councillor, and I will do the same as mayor.”
“I don’t have outside business interests that will distract me from giving my full attention to being the best mayor I can be for the residents of York and North Yorkshire. None of the other candidates can tick all these boxes.”
Setting the standard as mayor
I moved on to asking Foster what he thought the most important issues were in the campaign – what did he think would be most pressing to the public?
Foster began by saying, “It is vital that the first mayor sets the new authority on the right path for the long term. This isn’t a time for gimmicks or vanity projects. Residents tell me they are sick of politicians doing that. We need someone with a clear strategic vision that looks beyond the four-year electoral cycle to do the groundwork. We have to make a start on fixing all the problems caused by austerity, the cost-of-living crisis, and the decades of neglect of our region by central government”.
“We need well-paid, sustainable jobs; we must transition to a Net Zero economy; we need to fix our failing public transport system. We need decent, warm homes for everyone, and we must look after the most vulnerable people in our society. For me, these are the important issues.”
“We haven’t been getting our fair share of investment and grants and I want to do something about that. We need a mayor who is going to fight our corner and deliver results. That’s what the best mayors around the country are doing and that’s what I intend to do.”
Homes in North Yorkshire
Foster believes that house building is important to the region and it is easy to see why; with the cost of mortgages and rents continuing to cause financial hardship for numerous people, many are finding it difficult to keep the home they own, let alone be able to afford to buy one if they haven’t already. Yet the Green Party has often been criticised for its stance on housing.
Many opponents complain that the Greens are NIMBYs (a commonly used acronym standing for ‘not in my back yard’) – in other words, they support housing as long as it is not in their own area if it causes a disruption or the lowering of the value of property. Equally, given the environmental impact of new housing, people both in the Green Party and outside it have questioned how the need for new homes can be balanced out by ensuring that the environment isn’t damaged.
I put to Foster how he would seek to build affordable homes whilst also considering what impact they might have on the environment.
The right homes, in the right places
“Put in the simplest terms we need the right homes, in the right place, built to the right specification”, Foster began, “the market sector is fine for delivering executive homes, suburban housing estates and premium-priced urban centre developments, so we can just let it get on with that part”.
Foster continued by arguing that as mayor he would focus on filling the gaps left in the market – namely those of affordable homes. He further argued that a major failing of the housing market was that developers, as he saw it, “prefer green field sites to brownfield redevelopment, even though brownfield sites are often in the best places for easy access to public transport and town centres”.
Foster further added that as mayor he would focus on ensuring that brownfield land was used and that 60% of the homes built on his watch would be affordable.
On the issue of holiday homes, Foster was equally firm. If elected mayor, he would ensure that he would protect any affordable homes that were built from becoming holiday lets or second homes. He also argued that “Local people need homes and the jobs that come from a strong tourism economy, it isn’t one or the other”. This meant, Foster suggested, not just building new homes but also working with leaders of other regions affected by the lack of homes due to the holiday letting industry, like Cornwall and the Lake District, to develop a plan for best practice around the issue and to directly lobby the government “for better regulatory tools to manage these issues to sustain our communities and our economies”.
A circular economy for North Yorkshire
I moved on to asking Foster about his proposal for a circular economy and what that would mean in practice for the region?
“The circular economy is about breaking out of the ‘single-use and dumping stuff’ bad habits we have been increasingly pushed towards by the Linear Economy”, Foster began, “think of things like fast fashion and non-repairable tech. The Linear Economy uses a lot of raw materials, it often manufactures remotely in low-wage economies rather than supporting jobs where we live, it creates lots of pollution from transporting goods long distances and we end up with lots of stuff going into landfill causing pollution where we, the consumers, live”.
“In a circular economy, things don’t go straight to landfill as soon we get bored with them, or they break down; they get sold or repaired or repurposed to extend their useful life. When they get beyond repair, we break them up into components and reuse or recycle the components. At the large scale, we use a lot less raw materials which is obviously good, but equally importantly at local level a circular economy needs skilled service jobs in the repair, reuse and repurpose parts of the cycle and the value created by those jobs stays in our local economy. If we make local and buy local in a circular economy, we can sustain even more high-value local jobs.”
The car industry as a model?
“The car industry gets some of this right – there are skilled local jobs for mechanics, body shops, and customisation. There is a thriving second-hand car market, and we break up the really old stuff for parts and raw materials – these support more jobs. Compare that with fast fashion where about the only local employment supported is poorly paid retail jobs and delivery services in the gig economy.”
I was curious as to how Foster thought he could attract investment to the areas – what would bring businesses into the region and keep them in it?
Foster suggested that he would follow the example of the mayors of Manchester and the West Midlands and act as a champion for York and North Yorkshire, making sure the region was given a fair share of attention and he would help in whatever way was needed to stimulate that investment.
Transport across North Yorkshire
Finally, we turned to the topic of transport. What did Foster plan to do to improve transport across the region, especially public transport that is so relied upon, particularly by older residents?
“My focus is on three issues: public transport, reducing congestion, and road safety”, Foster said, “on public transport, we must give people realistic options for reducing car use or they will keep using their cars. This means solutions must address cost, reliability, service frequency, and network coverage issues. When we improve public transport people will make different choices and reduce car use. It’s a virtuous circle: increased usage generates more income, which means we can afford to increase frequency and coverage making it a good option for even more people. Increased usage brings reduced car use so the service becomes more reliable because of fewer congestion-related delays for everyone”.
“On road safety, my particular focus is on local schemes which improve pedestrian safety and protect children or other vulnerable road users, e.g. safe crossing points and 20mph zones around schools and in residential streets.”
Get out and vote on 2 May
Foster has plans and is passionate about the area he seeks to represent. He certainly believes that his plans would improve York and North Yorkshire if he were to be elected.
However, it’s up to the public to decide whether or not he should have the honour of being mayor of such a remarkable region. So, whoever you intend to vote for, make sure you do so on the 2 May and make your choice for the mayor you think will best represent you.
