Under the plans to be debated by members, Article Five of the UN Declaration of Human Rights – stating “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” – would be extended to “all sentient life forms”.
I like this idea. Good to see at least one party is taking a strong stance on animal rights.
Members also propose a ban on commercial horse and dog racing.
Wholly support this. Anyone who knows how animals in these sports are treated knows how brutal it usually is. It's a cruel support that shouldn't be allowed, same as bullfighting.
The Greens believe that the money spent maintaining a nuclear deterrence should be spent on foreign aid, increasing the budget to £16 billion a year, or one per cent of GDP.
On Sunday members will debate using the money to “build one or more hospital ships to provide worldwide humanitarian aid and support”.
They will also propose the creation of Forest Schools, so that children can build their “self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a woodland or natural environment with trees”.
Again, all policies I can get behind. Scrap the useless nuclear "deterrant" and instead spend the money helping the most needy across the planet. Also strongly support the idea of these 'forest schools' (though it might be more practical to simply enact a similar policy for existing schools?), I like the idea of children being raised with a greater appreciation of the environment, and particularly being given the chance during their youth to explore some of the wonderful places this beautiful country has to offer.
Under plans to rewrite the rules of global trade, goods would be banned from entering the UK if they are made in factories that do not comply with British health and safety standards or do not pay a living wage.
Thumbs up to the first part though the living wage is definitely too high a standard. We have an ethical obligation to not support sweatshops.
As for those who enjoy a Saturday night flutter, members propose that “rather than creating a few millionaires, we would seek to make the lottery more progressive by dividing prize money into smaller chunks.”
Not a huge policy but seems sound enough to me, spread the wealth around a bit more. Can do a lot more good that way!