This Green New Deal for Westminster sets out a clear, ambitious agenda to achieve the change we desperately need.

This isn’t the limit of our ambition – a Labour Council will continually work with residents, businesses, and experts to lead a Net-Zero transformation.

But it does show what a Labour Westminster will look like: cleaner, fairer, genuinely consultative, and taking every chance we get to tackle the climate crisis.

If we’re elected in May 2022, we’re ready to seize the opportunity and implement this Green New Deal.

“We’re really excited to launch our policy document A Green New Deal for Westminster. This sets out our vision for a green, fairer and more equal City of Westminster, detailing measures we will enact to dramatically cut carbon emissions if we win the Council. We successfully lobbied Westminster Conservatives to declare a Climate Emergency from the opposition benches in 2019. We now want to build on that success and drive real change by maximising the opportunities cutting emissions presents in terms of delivering social, economic and environmental justice for all.”

• Appointing a Cabinet Member with responsibility for climate action. This will be pivotal to driving change from day one of a Labour Council, marking a radical departure from the current Tory administration who haven’t appointed a Cabinet Member with climate responsibilities.
• Implementing a Net Zero Test for all decisions to assess the climate impact of decisions made, and a sustainable approach to procurement.
• Seeking to refurbish first rather than demolish, putting real emissions standards on all developments, and retrofitting our existing housing.
• Driving a green recovery and a just transition, with a Local Climate Bond for investments in our neighbourhoods, a focus on green jobs, and training available to all.
• Starting recovery in the streets, with a commitment to 15-minute neighbourhoods, new tree planting, and high streets that attract customers with active travel infrastructure.

The Westminster Labour group knows that the only way to tackle the climate crisis is to work in partnership with Westminster’s communities across the City – from Pimlico to Paddington, and the West End to Westbourne. The climate crisis is simply too important an issue to be left to the Council alone; top-down measures just won’t work. That’s why we’re committing to launching Westminster’s first Climate Assembly to genuinely co-create solutions with our communities.

In the spirit of working collaboratively with others we are keen to hear from residents, experts, and other stakeholders about how to develop and build on this plan. So please do get in touch with us to share your thoughts and attend our community event at the City of Westminster University if you can – details will be posted shortly.