Guy works as a health researcher, protecting health patients through regulation. A member of the Green Party since 2010, he stood as a candidate at the May 2014 London local elections. He has strong local links with the constituency, having lived in Fulham for eight years and in Hammersmith & Fulham borough for 20 and worked in Kensington and Chelsea. He served as an elected local Labour councillor on Hammersmith & Fulham Council for eight years, between 1986 and 1994.
Guy says:
“As a Councillor, I have a proven track record of standing up for local people and achieving real change to meet local needs. These include tackling the borough's acute housing need through providing genuinely affordable housing, saving Fulham Court housing estate from being privatised and providing more social housing, preventing local parks from being sold off to developers and establishing a trust to ensure public access to Fulham Palace.
Voting Green in Chelsea and Fulham means voting for a positive alternative to repeating the failed austerity policies of the three Westminster establishment parties and for a vision that will change Fulham and Chelsea for the better.”
Guy’s priorities are:
A Fairer London
London is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live. Rocketing housing, energy and transport prices mean it is also one of the most unequal. David Cameron claims ‘we are all in it together’ but in fact the UK is the only major western economy where wealth inequality has increased consistently since 2000. Today the rich have more while most Londoners face a cost of living crisis and are worse off. A massive increase in poverty means too many people are unable to make ends meet, Since 2010, food banks have opened in Fulham and Chelsea. Chelsea has the biggest gap between high and low earners, both in relative and absolute terms in London. Independent research shows that societies with the biggest gap between rich and poor are bad for everyone including the better off.
The Greens want a more equal London based on fair wages and taxation for all. We will introduce a minimum living wage of £10 so that all Londoners have enough to provide for themselves and their families. The Greens will cap London bankers bonuses - the highest in the world and introduce a wealth tax on the very richest (those with assets of more than £3 million) - this ensures that those earning the most contribute while generating a minimum of £23 billion to invest in the NHS, affordable housing and better public services.
Housing for All
Housing has been neglected by the two main parties, with the number of in affordable houses build at a 10 year low. More than two thirds of new homes in London are bought by private investors, and half to those to buyers from oversea - as housing has become an investment opportunity, it has been priced out of ordinary Londoners reach. House prices are 18 times higher than average earnings, meanwhile Generation Rent face some of the highest rents in Europe, pay rip off fees and charges and have lost rights against unfair eviction. The Greens will invest in genuinely affordable housing, introduce rent controls and secure tenancies in the privately rented sector and abolish the unfair bedroom tax.
Guy supports the Save Earls Court campaign and if elected will demand an independent public inquiry into the scandalous Earls Court redevelopment where private developers have been given permission by the Tories to build 7,500 luxury flats. Seven hundred and sixty existing social housing units are being demolished.
“Astonishingly, an independent valuation expert found that that the estimated profit for the Earls Court site had been minimised by the developers in order to justify providing as little affordable housing as possible,” says Guy. “No housing for social rent is being provided at all. I will campaign to build affordable and energy efficient homes for local residents on the Earls Court side and elsewhere in the constituency, not assets for investors.”
A Cleaner, Greener Fulham and Chelsea
Improving the quality of life and the local environment is vital. Everyone has a right to breathe clean air but air pollution on the polluted and congested roads in Fulham and Chelsea, such as the Cromwell and Talgarth Road, is a ‘silent killer’, the second biggest public health risk after smoking and a particular risk to children and the elderly. The government itself, estimates that air pollution is responsible for 4,000 premature deaths in London every year but their policies of neglect have made the situation worse. The Green Party will tighten controls on pollution and rigorously enforce them. We will monitor pollution and accelerate the introduction of 20 miles per hour speed limits and remove dangerous and polluting Lorries and HGV’s from our roads and use public health legislation to create more green spaces for local people to walk, cycle and play in.
About Guy:
“I was active in the Anti-Apartheid movement. I won the Institute for Public Policy Research award for public engagement. My research into the value of street markets and post offices received extensive TV and newspaper coverage. My report on stimulating business and enterprise in disadvantaged communities attracted millions of pounds of government funding. I have worked as a parliamentary researcher. I lead a project that provided practical support to democratic opposition in Eastern Europe. My radio programme, ‘London Calling’ was shortlisted for a National Hospital Radio Award.”
