Joanna COllins
Prospective Parliamentary Candidate
Joanna is standing as your Green Party Parliamentary Candidate because she believes that only voting Green will bring about the changes we need. Every Green vote will tell the major parties that business as usual won’t solve our huge problems - of climate change and biodiversity loss, grotesque social inequality, an economy that only benefits the most fortunate.
Photo credit: J Waller
Joanna has lived in Hope Valley for over 25 years and has been a Green Party High Peak Borough Councillor since 2019. She is vice-chair of the Climate Change Working Group, working across the Council for more focus on the environment.
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As a long-term resident and councillor, Joanna knows High Peak well. it’s a great place to live, but it also has its problems -the impact of mass tourism, lack of affordable housing, social inequalities, the decay of public services such as the NHS, social care, and public transport.
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Outside the Council Joanna is an active member of the Wildlife and Habitats Policy Working Group of the national Green Party, and she volunteers for local nature conservation projects. She also volunteers for Citizens Advice in Buxton, which gives her in-depth understanding of people’s practical problems and the systemic barriers to overcoming them. She is Chair of Edale Parish Council and has been a school governor at Hope Valley College.
She has managed projects linking schools and universities with partners in other countries, and so understands the complexity of working with people from many different backgrounds.
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We need the radical change that only a Green vote will bring. We need an economy that promotes well-being, not unsustainable growth, along with a much fairer taxation system. We need a real energy transition through renewable generation and more efficient use; houses that are affordable to buy, rent and heat; effective protections for the nature we all love; an education system that supports every child and adult to reach their potential; an NHS where staff have the time to care for their patients without coping with constant stress; a public transport system that takes people where they want to go cheaply and easily.
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These things are not a dream – they exist, or have existed, in the UK and other countries. Now they need to be part of systemic change.