Greens Support May Day March

Oxfordshire Green Party supports the May Day march commencing at 11.30 in
Manzil Way and going to Bonn Square, this Saturday the 3rd of May.

Councillor David Williams, Leader of the Green Group on the County Council, comments:

"In a county where all employers have yet to commit themselves to a Living Wage, where zero hours contracts (PDF) keep people on call with no guarantee of work and where the costs of housing, energy and food make life a struggle for many residents, we need change.

"Above all, we need political parties which recognise that living standards for the poorest and most vulnerable people in our society have to rise after years of decline. The poorest have experienced a decline in living standards so great in recent years that only the Victorian period offers a similar example.

"The Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and UK Independence parties are all distinguished by their commitment to continuing austerity. In practice, this means declining living standards for half of households. High income groups have seen income tax reduced; tax havens remain open; major corporations do not pay enough in corporation tax; financial institutions are not contributing enough in tax to compensate for the economic crisis they were in most cases responsible for creating.

"Change begins with a fairer overall tax system that places a larger proportion of the burden of taxation upon those whose who can bear it."