Go Green on May 5th - Vote Yes!

A group of environmentalists and campaigners passionate about a sustainable future have come together to support Yes to Fairer Votes. They have written this letter outlining why they believe that the alternative vote will help us to deal with some of the pressing issues affecting our planet. They say:

In less than a week's time we will be asked if we want to move to a fairer voting system or stick to the status quo. Our current rules for electing MPs to Parliament were designed for a different age, when 95% of us voted for the two main parties; at the last election this fell to 65%, the lowest in Europe. Man made climate change, nuclear power, degradation of ecosystems, depletion of resources and food waste are environmental problems which cut across ideology and partisan interests and can slip through the cracks when the big parties fixate on the preoccupations of the floating voters in marginal seats who currently decide elections.

The Alternative Vote will allow voters to rank candidates and mean MPs will need the support of 50% of their constituents to get elected, a test currently met only by one in three Members of Parliament. MPs will have to reach further and speak to people who are not their ‘ideologically natural’ supporters, opening the door to others, especially those worried about a degrading environment to put their concerns on the map. But this is bigger than the interests of any one party.

It is about the health of our democracy. The alternative vote will make it easier for independent minded people, inside and outside political parties, to be vocal about the environment and for different political parties to emerge if existing parties don’t pick up peoples’ concerns.

If our voting system cannot cope with the most pressing challenge of our times then it must be reformed and May 5th is our one and only chance to do so.

Signed by:

Jonathan Porritt, Environmentalist & Writer

Caroline Lucas MP, Leader of the Green Party

David Puttnam, Member of House of Lords

Tim Smit, Founder of Eden Project

Tony Juniper, Environmental Campaigner & Writer

John Elkington, Founder of Volans & Founder of SustainAbility

Sara Parkin, Co-Founder of Forum for the Future

Joanna Yarrow, Broadcaster, Author and Founder Director of Beyond Green

Ed Gillespie, Low Carbon Traveller and Writer

Wayne Hemmingway, Designer

Colin Hines, Co-director of Finance for the Future

John Grant, Author & Co-Founder of Ecoinomy

Melissa Sterry, Design Scientist & Futurologist

Dale Vince, Founder of Ecotricty & OBE

Simon Goldsmith, Founder of Principled Sustainability

Polly Higgins, International Environmental Lawyer

Richard Reynolds, Founder of Guerilla Gardening & London Leader

Joss Garman, Campaigner & Writer

Tamsin Omond, Founder of Climate Rush

Amisha Ghadiali Vice-Chair of Yes to Fairer Votes & Ethical Fashion Campaigner