“I’ll Bee Bolder than Labour on public transport” pledges Green mayoral candidate


by Green Party

The Green Party has pledged to make bus travel free for everyone under the age of 22 across Greater Manchester.  

Green mayoral candidate Gerladine Coggins said: 

“Young people are struggling to get by, facing sky-high rents, steep energy and food bills while racking up student debt. I’ll make buses free for everyone under the age of 22, so that the costs of travel are never a barrier to getting to education, work, training or a night out. We can more than cover the cost of this by introducing a £3 overnight visitor levy on hotel accommodation – which will go virtually unnoticed by those paying for it but will raise millions to fund such a scheme [1].” 

In further pledges to make transport cheaper and improve connections across Greater Manchester, the Greens say they will launch the ‘Bee Orbit’ [2] – a new network of high-frequency, express orbital bus routes linking towns across Greater Manchester – and work towards contactless ticketing that can be used across all local trains, buses and trams within Greater Manchester.   

Coggins said: 

“Many journeys between Greater Manchester’s towns are slow and indirect because they are funnelled through the city centre. Direct, high-frequency orbital buses will cut journey times, connect people to jobs, leisure and hospitals and bring communities closer together.  

“I’ll Bee Bolder than Labour on public transport in Greater Manchester. From day one as mayor I’ll begin work on the Bee Orbit and plan to make sure tickets can be used across all Greater Manchester’s public transport options.   

“I want to see a transport system that is a win win win for local residents – cutting travel costs, reducing congestion and improving air quality by cutting emissions.” 

Today’s announcement follows pledges on housing and high streets. 

 Notes 

  1. The anticipated cost for making under-22 bus travel free is approximately £9.2 million for 2027/28 and £10.6 million for 2028/29. To fund this policy, a Green Mayor will implement a £3 overnight visitor levy on hotel accommodation as soon as legislation allows, which is expected to raise over £20 million per year.   
  1. Bee Orbit will connect hundreds of thousands of residents across Rochdale, Oldham, Tameside and Stockport, quickly followed by a regular express service in the northern corridor connecting key locations in Rochdale, Bolton, Bury and Wigan. These will be complemented by new orbital bus routes around Manchester, Salford and Trafford, reducing car use for short journeys. 

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Green Party of England and Wales announce they will not stand in Clacton by-election

Confirming that the Green Party will not stand in Clacton at this by-election, Green Party Leader Zack Polanski said,

“This is a desperate stunt from a desperate politician whose lifetime of grifting is finally catching up with him. Greens will play no part in his political circus and instead remain laser-focused on winning in the Greater Manchester by-election. If you want to send a message to the establishment, the best way is by voting Green and ignoring Farage’s sideshow.”

A spokesperson for Tendring Green Party said:

“We care deeply about the people of Clacton and Tendring, and we have no intention of helping to legitimise a by-election that appears designed not to serve local residents but to serve Nigel Farage’s personal political ambitions.

We will not stand in this political circus of a by-election.

This contest is not about the people of Clacton. It is about one politician placing himself at the centre of a media spectacle and expecting local residents to play supporting roles in a drama of his own making.

At a time when families are worried about the cost of living, public services are under pressure, housing is increasingly unaffordable, and communities are demanding real solutions, Clacton deserves representatives focused on the issues that matter, not another exercise in self-promotion.

Our focus remains on protecting public services, improving transport, tackling the housing crisis, restoring our environment, and creating thriving communities for future generations. Our loyalty is to the people of this area, not to the ego or the remnants of a career of any individual politician”

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Zack Polanski: Nigel Farage is trying to con the public – again


/ by Green Party

Responding to Nigel Farage’s decision to trigger a Parliamentary by-election in Clacton, Zack Polanski said:

“Nigel Farage is once again trying to con the public with this stunt – trying to duck the fact that his history of taking dodgy donations is finally catching up with him.

“This is not Nigel Farage vs the establishment but the establishment’s man against truth, honesty and decency.

“As much as he now protests he is the victim of a so called smear campaign against him, the truth is that he is a grifter brought down by his own grifting. He has never been a man of the people, but a representative of the wealthy and the establishment.

“We need to take big money out of politics with a cap on political donations, and state funding for political parties so they’re not in the pocket of the wealthy and powerful.”

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Greens pledge to give empty shops back to the community in Greater Manchester to bring high streets back to life 

Green candidate Geraldine Coggins: “40 years of neoliberalism has blighted the places we call home. I will make our high streets once again the beating heart of our communities.” 

The Green Party’s candidate for mayor Geraldine Coggins announces today she will revitalise high streets by bringing empty spaces back into use for the community, to support local economies and to fix the failure of Labour’s developer and profit first model which has concentrated growth in Manchester city centre with unaffordable luxury flats. 

Today’s high street announcement follows Geraldine’s pledge on Friday to deliver  20,000 genuinely affordable and publicly owned homes.  

High streets in towns across Greater Manchester are struggling as growth and investment is piled into the city centre.  

Centre for Cities (2025) analysed the high streets of the UK’s 62 largest cities and towns. Wigan was ranked 8th highest in terms of proportion of empty high street shops, with 16.3% of shopfronts lying empty.  

Geraldine will set up an Empty Shops Team to enable the boroughs to make best use of the powers they have, including Compulsory Purchase Orders, to take over empty properties and this will be co-ordinated through Town Centre Partnership Agreements.

The Greens will also set up a Community Development Fund to help councils and community groups buy vacant properties.  

Geraldine Coggins said, “40 years of neoliberalism has blighted the places we call home. 

“As mayor, I will make our high streets once again the beating heart of our communities. I will create a new task force to give the boroughs the expertise and co-ordination they need to use their powers to take over empty shops and to end the scandal of land banking. The mayor’s investment fund will be used to help communities buy empty spaces to make all of our high streets the economic, social and cultural hearts of our towns. 

“No more empty shops. People over profit. I will end the failed Labour model which puts developers profits above people and communities.” 

Geraldine will launch her full manifesto for Greater Manchester Mayor on Thursday.

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zack polanski: Burnham must say whether he would end Britain’s participation in Gaza genocide


by Green Party

Following last week’s grim milestone of 1,000 days of genocide in Gaza, Green Party leader Zack Polanski has challenged Andy Burnham to answer whether, as Prime Minister, he would end Britain’s participation in the genocide or continue it.

Zack Polanski said:

“Gaza has now endured more than 1,000 days of genocide. Andy Burnham must answer: as Prime Minister, will he end Britain’s participation in genocide or continue it?

For almost three years, the world has watched hospitals destroyed, children shot by snipers, doctors tortured, civilians deliberately starved and lifesaving aid blocked. Yet Britain has continued to arm Israel, shield its government from meaningful accountability and help sustain this genocidal assault.

The evidence is overwhelming. A new publicly accessible, online archive preserving footage from Gaza has been created to ensure these crimes can never be forgotten or denied. Future generations will understand that we knew what was happening. They will ask why our government continued to help make it possible.

If Andy Burnham is serious about offering a different kind of leadership, he must commit now to ending all UK arms exports to Israel, imposing comprehensive sanctions on the Israeli government, backing international legal accountability, handing intelligence gathered by RAF reconnaissance flights over Gaza to the international courts, and suspending normal diplomatic relations until Israel fully complies with international law.”

Notes to editors

  • Zack Polanski refers in his comments to Israel Exposed – War Crimes Archive, a recently launched online archive documenting events in Gaza. The archive is available at archivegenocide.com and contains graphic imagery with content warnings for viewers.

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