u/tax_economic_rent

I'm a floating Labour-Green voter, leaning towards Green.

But I'm struggling to explain to my friends why I want to vote Green because their policy platform seems quite muddled at the moment. Is there any chance the national party can decide on a set of core policies before they officially launch the next manifesto which for all we know could be years away?

I don't really need to hear vague commitments about making sure the wealthy pay their fair share, or strengthening union rights, or protecting the NHS - often what I'm getting through the news is very broad sound bites (or maybe I'm not looking hard enough!)

Basically, I want to be able to say "look, I'm voting Green because:" (for example) they will increase R&D spending to 3.5% of GDP... or they will implement a national monthly transport pass like they have in Germany (1)... or they will fully nationalise water... aka more tangible, easy to understand policies?

Just wondering if anyone else feels the same.

1- https://int.bahn.de/en/offers/regional/deutschland-ticket

Okay, that speech (morning of Monday 11th May 2026), was kind of disappointing.

There really is a widespread feeling that Starmer's leadership has stagnated and that he's missing an opportunity to use his huge majority to achieve what should be Labour Party aims.

Here are 5 'big ticket' policy ideas that might just turn the tide (hoping for a nerdy policy debate!)

1. Nationalise water

Probably the most obvious one, 82% of the public support it — including a majority of Conservative and Reform voters (YouGov). High upfront cost, but in the long run it saves money, water is a natural monopoly and privatisation has failed (it's estimated £90bn has been paid as dividends and bonuses since water privatisation, imagine if that had been reinvested into the network)

2. A national transport pass

Germany's monthly Deutschlandticket gives you unlimited local and regional trains, trams and buses across Germany. It costs €63/month, hugely beneficial for workers who commute on public transport and it has taken millions of car journeys off the roads. Spain launched its equivalent in January 2026: €60/month, €30 for under-26s. A British version at around £50-60/month would transform daily life for workers outside London who have no viable alternative to the car.

3. Large-scale social housebuilding

A large state-led programme of social housing construction, attacks the cost-of-living crisis, creates jobs in the regions Labour is losing, and produces something voters can actually see and that key workers need

4. Infrastructure investment in the regions

The Elizabeth Line transformed London. Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle deserve the same sort of ambition - new metros, trams, cycle networks, or their own Lizzie Lines. The current approach is one of perpetual penny pinching (cough cough thanks HMT), our level of public investment is well below OECD peers, and we also just take way too long to build anything; a one-mile tram extension in Birmingham is taking 16 years, meanwhile French and Spanish take a similar time to build entire networks.

5. A national R&D and science drive

The UK government's annual R&D spend is around £20bn, in real terms it is due to remain flat until 2030 because inflation cancels out the modest planned increases. Welfare spending in contrast is £322bn annually, a 16:1 ratio - now of course we need to support pensioners and people who cannot work but we also need to invest more in science, technology and our future, we are rapidly falling behind China and even other Western allies