Announcing the Policy Hub

As a follow-up to our Vision for Oxfordshire event, we have set up a policy hub, co-ordinated by Colin Aldridge.

Here you will find posts about what we are doing to work on policies that will implement our Vision for Oxfordshire in 2025, and how you can contribute.

The background topic notes that the hub has been working on have been moved to a blog page on the members' website for the duration of the elections period, where they appear with other information for candidates. See:

https://www.greenoxfordshire.com/background_topic_notes_for_candidates

The idea is to involve all Oxfordshire Green Party members in thinking about OGP policies and drawing up a manifesto and key positive messages for the 2021 local elections. We want to think out our policy for Oxfordshire from basic principles, drawing on the model Kate Raworth uses in her book Doughnut Economics. We want to answer the question:

What would it mean for the people of Oxfordshire to thrive, respecting both the health of the planet and the wellbeing of people worldwide?

This means considering four underlying questions that we need to ask ourselves when thinking about policy:

• What would it mean for the people of Oxfordshire to thrive?
• What would it mean for the people of Oxfordshire to thrive within its natural habitat?
• What would it mean for the County to respect the health of the whole planet?
• What would it mean for the County to respect the wellbeing of people worldwide?

The first two of these questions are the most relevant for local policy development.

The latter two, global, questions are really about identifying and reducing any adverse impacts that local activities generate. For example, where do we send our waste for recycling: do we send it overseas where it might negatively impact on another country and another people? What is our investment policy – is it ethical or are other nations impacted?

Our aim in the consultation exercise is to build up a picture of what is happening in Oxfordshire at the moment and what OGP can and should do about it. We are collecting background information and initial ideas in topic by topic briefing notes, which we want to prepare in outline before involving the wider membership. See the background topic notes collected so far, which cover a few of the major topics. They are not complete (some are only partially sketched out), and we would like anyone who is able to flesh them out further to do so, as well as to work on further topics.

The next stage will then be to invite the wider OGP membership to add their knowledge and ideas, in answer to the questions:

• Do you think the description of the challenges/background is sufficient?
• What should be added?
• What should be removed?
• What county policies should be in our manifesto to address the challenges/background we face?

To do this, a consultation tool has been set up for our collective Vision for Oxfordshire, where any OGP member will be able to add short comments and suggestions.

We are concentrating in this exercise on the policies needed countywide for the County Council elections, but the manifesto for the Oxford City Council elections has now also been updated.