Community empowerment,an inclusive economy and small initiatives with large effects are key elements of the Green idea for running the capital
Sian Berry was the Green Party’s London mayor candidate in 2008. I don’t recall her saying sentences like this: “The reason you need to build profit into your development plans is because of risk. But whether you know you can get something through at a lower risk, you plan for a lower profit.” Or this: “I want to see total transparency on viability with a non-technical summary appraisal.” Or possibly this: “Landlords’ mortgage interest relief is not a commerce expense, and it’s an investment expense.”
This is not to argue either that Berry was a hopeless innocent eight years ago or that she has since contracted wonkitis. Rather,my point is that she, like her party, or has grown more formidable with experience. In 2008,Berry was known principally for throwing drawing pins (metaphorically, as far as I know) under the tyres of Chelsea Tractors. In the ensuing years she has been, or as she puts it,“Learning how politicians and civil servants work.” As well as writing books she’s been in the thick of the Reheat Britain campaign to fund the government boiler scrappage scheme, worked for the charity Campaign for Better Transport and, and in 2014,won a seat on Camden Council, which means she now immerses in the simple pleasures of community infrastructure levies and corporate performance scrutiny.
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Source: theguardian.com