1. Tell us about yourself and why are you standing?

I am Nick Brown and I am the Green Party Candidate for the all new Chester North and Neston Constituency. I have lived in the Garden Quarter with my wife for almost 17 years and love it.  After spending 14 years in in the commercial world, I went back to university and retrained to be a teacher. I have recently won an international award (The Templeton Prize) for my work with environmental education. I am a beekeeper, cyclist and keen baker.  I am currently the Head of Earth Sciences and Governor at a secondary comprehensive. 

I was born in Blackpool, and as a child we used to come on holiday to Chester every Christmas. I used to love going into the Warner Bros store which was on Eastgate Street, but that has long since gone. Chester was always magical to me back then and this love for the city has not gone away. Chester is full of people that care. Vibrant and diverse communities like ours in the Garden Quarter or over in Hoole make the city a fantastic place to live. The city is home to a huge network of people that are campaigning and acting to make the city, country and planet better, but they need support and the Green Party is the political home for all these groups.

I wanted to stand for the election as I know the potential of the city and am frustrated in seeing a lack of action on a number of issues that are important to me. I am sick of Copy and Paste Politicians that just do what their party leader tells them and does not think twice about the peoples life’s it affects. When it comes to the climate emergency, Palestine, the cost of living crisis and other pressing matters I didn’t want to be another social media warrior, I wanted to stand up and be the amplifier for those voices that were not being heard.

2. What personal attributes can you bring to the role? 

Jack of all trades with a can do attitude. I am not bound by party whips and will always do the right thing for the people of Chester North and Neston. I think people are tired of the old ways of politics, so let’s do something different! 

3. What are your 3 main priorities for Chester if elected?

1. Work with local council and residents to improve active travel and affordable public transport to and from the city to the surrounding villages and other major hubs like Manchester Airport. Connectivity is key. 
2. Get insulating homes. The sooner we can get people in warm dry homes, the better for peoples health, money in their pockets, spending, carbon emissions and happiness. 
3.  Work to ensure that all residents can have access to NHS dentists and Pharmacies. Many of our rural and local pharmacies are closing down which leaves people vulnerable to their ailments if they cannot access their medicines, and NHS dentists are as rare as hens teeth! 

4. How would you assess the performance of the Government?

Shocking! Should I make a list?: Lying to get us out of Europe and messing up the deal, breaking their own imposed lockdown rules, giving billions of pounds in contracts to their mates, discharging the vulnerable into care homes without testing during Covid, Ex-PM and current Foreign Secretary David Cameron Lobbying for Greensill, Liz Truss completely crashing the economy to the tune of £30Bn in 1 month, The Rwanda Scheme, HS2, cost of living crisis, NHS waiting lists, Schools collapsing both educationally and physically… All this has meant that the public have lost faith in not only them, but politics as a whole. We need to rebuild the trust to show politics as a force for good, when done correctly. 

5. How would you like to see the NHS run and funded going forward?

The Green Party stands against the privatisation of the NHS and will work tirelessly to keep in in the public hands. We back the NHS Reinstatement Bill to abolish wasteful competition within the NHS. We stand against the marketisation and privatisation of the service. For everyone to have lower waiting times, access to GP’s and Dentists, boosting the pay of NHS workers, we estimate that NHS England would require additional expenditure of £8Bn rising to £28Bn by 2030 due to the changing demographics of the country. This will be paid for by the raising of the Wealth and Carbon Tax scheme. 

6. What do you intend to do about sewage dumping in the river Dee? What will you do to help us get bathing water status?

The only way to end the sewage scandal is to take the water companies out of private hands and re-nationalise. The money that is being extracted for shareholder dividends should be re-invested into improving the antiquated systems.  I use the Dee for canoeing in the Summer and when you get to the outflow pipes by the Riverside Centre you notice the scum and sewage floating in the water and quickly turn round. This has to end. 

7. What are your thoughts on our future relationship with the EU?

I voted to remain in the European Union and I stand by that vote. After seeing the decline of our economy, international relations and even the food on our shelves, it has been proven that leaving the EU was a mistake. You only have to go into a supermarket when you are on holiday, and compare it to one of ours in Chester, to see the difference between being in and out of the EU makes. The Green Party is a proud pro-European party. With all the international crisis – war, climate, food security, energy etc, we need to be in strong international partnerships. Full membership of the EU remains the best option for the UK. 

I would work towards re-joining the EU as soon as the domestic political situation is favourable and the EU states are willing. This would mean that initially we must join the customs union as a first step to re-joining. Our children should have the right to work, live and fall in love in any EU country they choose. 

8. Is a trans woman a woman? 

Another culture war stoked up by people trying to cause division and panic. When I was growing up the Tory Government brought in Section 28 which banned schools and councils providing information to children about homosexuality. Discussion was rife about gay men being a danger to children in public toilets and swimming pool changing rooms. Children were bullied, the word gay became an insult, many young people were ashamed of their identities. This law was repealed in 2003 by the Labour party and it has taken decades for the gay community to recover. The media stir about trans women is almost a direct repeat of this. If we single out one section of society and make them an enemy or a danger then political parties and hate groups can galvanise around that fear, using it to grow their own popularity.  The Green Party supports self-ID, so that trans and non binary people could be legally recognised in their chosen gender through self-declaration. It is not up to a doctor, politician, or your spouse who you are, or how you identify. 

9. What is your stance on immigration?

How we treat those that have chosen to make the UK their home says a great deal about us as a nation. We have a long history of welcoming those in need from the Huguenots in the 17th century, through to the German Jews in the 1930s and those recently from Hong Kong and the Ukraine. We are a country forged from migrants and over the years we have greatly benefited economically, socially and culturally. Like many industrialised nations, without immigration, our population would start to stagnate and fall into decline. Immigration brings young people keen to work, and that can only be a good thing for our aging population. 

I want an end to the hostile environment being stoked by the Conservatives and Reform. This type of culture war and scapegoating is dangerous. 

We need to create safe routes of sanctuary for those fleeing danger, persecution and war. When they arrive on our shores we need to stop locking them away to be processed (as this would have been done in their own country) and put them into good stable work that suits their skills. No one becomes a refugee lightly and even though some parties are trying to pull us out of it, we are still a signatory of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. 

I would work to abolish the 10 year route to settlement which traps people into poverty and push to dismantle the Home Office. A new Department for Migration should be created to separate it from the criminal justice system.  The exploitation and punishment of migrants must end, and we should act with sympathy and decency like we did in the past. 

10. What 3 policies from the National Manifesto will encourage people to vote for you? 

1. Secure and warm homes – I would call for an immediate ban on no fault evictions and a freeze on rent rises. Using cheap government borrowing we would insulate 10 million homes to bring families out of poverty. For those that need then we would start building new Council homes in brownfield sites, and like my colleague Steve Davies is doing in Christleton, creation of community plans: by the community, for the community.
2. Renationalisation – We would commit to bringing railways, water companies and the Big 5 retail energy companies back into public ownership. They would be run to serve us all with wealth going back into investment rather than shareholders bank accounts. This would stop the draining of funds and resources from our pockets to the wealthy. 
3. Wealth and Carbon Tax – In 2020 the wealthiest 10% of UK households held 43% of the wealth. We need to reset that imbalance. Wealth held in assets does not circulate and Liz Truss showed us that ‘trickle down economics’ doesn’t work. The other parties have promised that there will be either no tax rises or tax cuts. This is not sustainable and only means more austerity. We do not think that is fair and neither do 64% of people that support maintaining or increasing tax to support these services. We will add a wealth tax to those individuals that have assets above £10 million at 1% and assets above £1Bn at 2%. We would also levy a Carbon tax at £120 per tonne (rising to £500 per tonne) on the highest emitters. This would make it financially more attractive to look for alternative, low to zero carbon alternatives. 

11. What improvements to active travel and public transport in the area will you make?

What a mess this is! We have a wealth of expertise in this city that can sit and work together to create a plan. We need to ensure that the plan is oven ready for when funding comes down the line. This just needs a bit of leadership and facilitation. The last efforts from CWaC were rushed and did not have community consensus.  Then when the Local Tories got involved it was dead in the water. We are still left with the paint on the road. Some people follow it, some people don’t. There are so many good examples of how walking, bikes, buses and cars can co-exist, we are just not one of them. I would love to lead or be part of this movement if elected. 

12. What is your stance on fox hunting?

I am fundamentally opposed to all blood sports and would campaign to introduce a ban on all hunting. This includes trophy hunting, trail hunting and the commercial shooting of game birds. I would also campaign against badger culling. This showed no effect in the rates of TB transfer in cattle and we now have much more intelligent ways of slowing or stopping the rates of transfer. 

13. Would you support the introduction of a business rate on owners of student HMO and purpose built student accommodation? 

Yes I could see this as a good thing. I live in the Garden Quarter with many of the Students that go to the University. Some landlords see these students as a cash cow and do not care for the local community, the upkeep of the properties or the area. If we could raise a tax on these businesses it could have a two fold effect. The tax raised should be ring fenced to go back into communities like the Garden Quarter to keep the area clean and tidy and improve the lives of the students and full time residents. The tax, linked to a rent freeze, may also put off some land lords who will sell the houses. These houses could go back into the community for local families.  

14. What are your thoughts on housing policy and substandard social housing? 

Safe and affordable warm homes is key to a successful country. I teach children that live in poor quality, unhealthy social housing. The damp creates health issues and those issues stop them being in school. 

My priority would be to ensure that Chester North and Neston has the correct provision of homes offered at a low social rent. I will fight to end the right to buy so homes continue to be owned by the community. New homes will be delivered from refurbishment where possible but new homes build if needed. CWaC should be empowered to bring empty or derelict buildings back into use as social housing. The needs of the elderly, families with children and people living with a disability or those that need sheltered housing are catered for. This is a national scandal and has wide reaching consequences. 

15. How would propose to solve the current social care crisis which takes up a significant percentage of council budgets?

We are in a social care crisis and and this does not show signs of ending without significant investment and a rewriting of the rulebook. There are 400,000 people waiting for social care and 150,000 staff vacancies. Spouses, siblings and children are carrying the heavy load with an estimated 4.7 million unpaid carers across the country. I teach a number of children that are Young Carers. When they have finished at school they go home to look after a family member; feed them, wash them, do the housework and put them to bed, before they do their homework. This is a failure of Government. 

If elected, I will push for free personal care to ensure dignity in old age and for disabled people. Carers should be paid a wage that reflects their importance and an extra £20Bn per year is needed to bring the service up to standards. 

Free personal care either in home or a residential setting is fundamental to a welfare state. Vacancies should be filled by ensuring that a career pathway exists with national pay, terms and conditions. The working visa system will be changed to stop the exploitation of overseas care workers. I would campaign for ‘Gloria’s Law’.  

16. What are your plans for dealing with the cost of living crisis and the rising need for food banks? 

The Green party are proposing a Universal Basic Income to allow everybody in the UK to have enough money to live a comfortable life without the need to rely on foodbanks.  Linked to Rent Freeze and ban on no fault evictions, warm home insulation programme and a minimum wage of £15, we would aim for people to keep more of their money in their pockets. The current financial crisis was a choice of the Conservative Government to spend money in one place rather than improving the lives of the people of the UK. The gap between the rich and poor is compounding that. To counter this we are campaigning for a maximum pay ration of 10:1 in both private and public sectors. Meaning if the lowest paid worker in your company is on £14,000 per year, the CEO’s income is restricted to £140,000 per year. This will kick start a race to the top rather than a drive to pay workers low wages. 

17. Building on recent success, Storyhouse, Northgate etc what are the next steps in revitalising the city centre?

We need to tackle some of the big scars on our city. Those buildings that we seem to ignore but the likes of York, Bath or any other European Historic City would not tolerate. The monstrosity on the Amphitheatre is an embarrassment,  The old market that is costing the council thousands per week to keep empty is a true waste, the abandoned building on Lower Bridge Street next to the Cross Keys. These are very large blots on the city that could be revitalised with some community imagination. The building on Lower Bridge Street is prime time to be converted into apartments. The Building on the Amphitheatre should be a Museum/gallery. The old market should be re-opened as a low cost local market providing all the things we are now missing from town. We should not be knocking down any more buildings. We need to start redeveloping them. It is cheaper, maintains our heritage and emits less carbon. 

18. What are your views on renationalising services and utilities? 

Privatisation has failed. Our services are expensive, polluting, low quality, and the CEO’s and shareholders are not only let off the hook, they are rewarded with enormous pay packets and bonuses. This cannot continue. 

We need a huge investment in water, transport and other utilities to make sure they remain fit for purpose and ready for the challenges ahead. We would commit to bringing railways, water companies and the Big 5 retail energy companies back into public ownership. They would be run to serve us all with wealth going back into investment rather than shareholders bank accounts.