George Hibberd and Dan Tipney, two of Safe Landing co-founders, attended the Green Party of England and Wales’ annual party conference in Bournemouth. This was the first time that Safe Landing had attended a Green Party conference and the first time Safe Landing has attended a party conference as an exhibitor with our own stall.
Day 1
On day 1 George attended a fringe event around the Greens and the Trade Union movement. On the panel, among them the new deputy leader Mothin Ali, they spoke about the Greens wanting to reach out and include the working class in their party. They talked about wanting to reach out to high carbon sectors in particular and figure out new methods of decision-making to make clear to those sectors that the Greens are not a threat to them.
Day 2
This was reaffirmed on day 2 a by a short interview with Zack Polanski the newly elected leader of the Green Party. He affirmed his stance that deliberative democracy like Citizens’ Assemblies and Workers’ Assemblies should be central in how the party approaches the issue of decarbonisation. This was music to our ears. He was quickly rushed to the next stall but made clear that he wanted to work with us moving forwards.
Also that day, we attended the transport policy working group where they discussed the Greens’ policies on aviation. The Greens are advocates of progressive taxation like the frequent flyer levy as a way of both reducing aviation’s impact on the climate and raising the money needed to invest in low carbon technology and lower carbon transport. They also will be pushing for aviation fuel to no longer be tax exempt, bringing it in line with other modes of transport. After the session, we spoke to the chair proposing to form an aviation policy working groups with the likes of Possible, the Aviation Environment Federation and Transport and Environment.
Conversations with party members
Outside of these fringe events and working groups we had countless conversations with Green party members in the main exhibition hall. Whilst some people were skeptical about us thinking we were a greenwashing outfit, after telling them who we are and what we were about everyone was in support of our mission. Everyone understood that aviation plays a big part of modern day life for us in the global north but that aviation needs to rapidly address its impact on the climate. They also understood that aviation workers and other high carbon workers need to be consulted and given a voice in how our industries transform in the coming years. Everyone was very excited to hear about our recent Visioning Assembly and our plans for further assemblies.
Crucial relationships formed
All in all, it was an extremely successful event. We got our mission out to many Green party members and forged crucial relationships with leaders within the party. Safe Landing, whilst non-partisan, will work with any party that aligns with our values, our mission and our vision. The Green Party, under Zack Polanski poses an exciting opportunity for aviation workers and making sure that aviation flourishes in harmony with nature. We look forward to working with the Greens moving forwards.
