Ann Garrett is secretary of Bromley and Beckenham CND, joint convenor of Bromley Peace Council, joint co-ordinator of Bromley Green Party and Friends of the Earth, joint chair of Save Our Local Hospitals and Services (Greenwich, Bexley and Bromley group) and a member of Amnesty, Bromley Cuts Concern, Greenpeace, Bromley Civic Society, Bromley Against Fracking, Bromley TUC, NTAG [Nuclear Trains Action Group] and the TUC Pensioners Association.
She has been involved in local campaigns to oppose the expansion of Biggin Hill Airport, and has supported clearance of the Waste for Fuel Site in Orpington, and the Orpington Priory Regeneration Project.
At present she is involved with UNITE campaigns to save public services in Bromley – particularly the 6 small libraries, and is challenging plans for high –rise developments in Bromley town centre.
Her key aims are
- Ensuring that environmental and human rights laws are preserved during Brexit negotiations.
- More social and genuinely affordable housing.
- Saving the NHS and public services from further privatisation, and the threat of multi-national trade agreements.
- Abolishing the arms trade and opposing Trident renewal
- Working towards the closing of nuclear power stations
- Investment in small businesses, especially in the renewables industries.
- Improvement of rail and bus transport, rather than more road-building.
- Development of nursery, community and social care provision.
- Turning academies and free schools into local fully comprehensive schools.
- Investment in apprenticeships, job creation and free university education.
- Increasing awareness of women’s equality rights.
- Raising of the minimum wage to £10 per hour, and ending zero hours contracts.
- Increasing taxation on higher earners and curbing tax evasion and avoidance.
She is particularly proud that that The Green Party is an international party, and feels that it is vital for it to be voice of challenge and positive change in local, national and world-wide issues.
Ann is working for investment in a low carbon economy, public ownership of essential services, and combating climate change are areas to which she is committed.