Zoë Garbett - Green Party Candidate for Mayor

Age UK London recently hosted its Older Londoners’ Election Hustings and has also released its Manifesto.

There are 13 candidates standing to be Mayor of London. For a full list please visit https://www.londonelects.org.uk/im-voter/candidates/mayoral-candidates.

We asked the four leading London Mayoral Candidates if they would write a blog post for older Londoners. Here we have the first, from Zoë Garbett, the Green Party candidate. 

Right now, London isn’t working for its older residents. 25 per cent of Londoners over 50s live in poverty, compared to 18 per cent in the rest of England. Four out of ten people who are eligible for pension credit are not receiving it. 

I have a background of pushing back against this tide. In the NHS, I delivered mulimillion pound budgets and projects that address health inequalities including social isolation for older people. As a councillor, helping older people in my ward navigate complicated bills and negotiate with their energy providers is an everyday part of my job. 

As Mayor of London, I could do so much more to systematically improve London for older people. I am set-focused on making London more affordable and more accessible. 

Every older person should be living in a cosy, warm home in dignity with no money worries. Transport must always be genuinely affordable for everyone to get around on. Older people have a right to public life, enjoying spaces and travelling wherever you wish, safely and confidently.

How would I deliver this as Mayor?

We will restore 24 hour free travel to holders of 60+ London Oyster photocards and Older Person’s Freedom Passes, including for mornings. Accompanying carers will have the same benefits.

We would secure as much funding as possible to provide more council housing, acquiring homes and refusing to lose homes to demolition. We would radically increase the number of homes being properly insulated, in order to retain heat and reduce bills. Our Cold Homes taskforce will prioritise finding people who have disabilities, terminal illnesses as well as taking action on overcrowded households to upgrade their homes as quickly as possible. 

Greens for years have advocated safer conditions for walking, wheeling and cycling in our city. We are committed to reducing traffic, pollution, noise, and pavement clutter.  Bus stops will have the information you need, with places to sit down.

We will increase London Living Wage to over £16, so those in work can be confident they can earn enough to live on. We will ensure flexible, secure, age-friendly job opportunities for older people returning to work or going into sudden retirement, as well as young people starting out, in collaboration with our Just Transition Commision, our Elders’ Champion and our Youth Assembly.

Everyone needs to use the toilet - it’s a basic basic human need. We want everyone to be able to go out without worrying. That’s why a Green Mayor would commit to £20 million per year, hugely improving the number of toilets across the Underground network, prioritising the provision of toilets at stations at interchanges and where there are long gaps in provision.

It’s this kind of bold action that other parties just are not prepared to consider. Tories have driven the country into chaos, and Labour are repeatedly unwilling to offer anything substantively different.

I really enjoyed being at the Age UK London Hustings recently, to hear directly from older Londoners about what you need from the next Mayor of London. 

There has never been a more important time to vote Green. Across the country people are voting Green in record numbers. Greens have been on the rise in London too; we have been the third party in this city for well over a decade.Support for the Greens is growing, because the alternatives are only proving to be hollow. Vote Green: now is the time.