Whilst the priorities of city and suburb, country town and village are often the subject of public discussion, those of the conurbs, the small towns and villages that make up a large part of Britain's big conurbations, seldom are.

Labour in central and local government has done something to turn around the fortunes of the big cities, but never got around to mending its decaying urban heartlands, has been fixated on appeasing voters in suburban marginals.

The political history of the conurbs, the dismantling and removal of its local government, has left us with fewer means of defending ourselves, of resisting moves to centralize provision and marginalize us than even isolated rural areas.

This political disenfranchisement, and the economic insecurity that goes with it, is something nobody else but us will reverse - government and business has run out of money now, and we're still at the back of the queue.(cont)

People on state benefits often find that they are financially worse off when they take a job - particularly if it's part-time. This discourages some of them from trying to find work, and can result in 'benefit dependency'.

On the other hand, many of those in demanding full-time jobs can resent being little better off than those who they do not see working at all. These twin problems, caused by our current tax and benefit system, result in the poverty trap. When claimants start earning money, their whole earnings can be deducted from their benefits. It's as if they are facing a 100% tax rate.

When they also take into account things such as the cost of travelling to and from work many people find that they are actually worse off having a job. Where is the sense in this?

The Green Party will address this problem by introducing a citizen's income. This is an unconditional payment made to each individual as a right of citizenship - like a tax credit paid to everyone whether they're working or not.(cont)

The transition movement seeks to significantly increase local resilience (to mitigate the effects of Peak Oil) and drastically reduce carbon emissions (to mitigate the effects of Climate Change).

It is a massive social experiment, carried out in the belief that government will do too little too late, that we as individuals cannot on our own do enough, and that we therefore have to try to do it ourselves at local level.

That the days of cheap oil are numbered, that we have to try to recreate a locally run low energy economy, and that we are capable of displaying as much ingenuity in making a better life on the energy downslope as we did on the upslope.

It begins with the formation of an initiating group that then adopts the transition model with the intention of engaging enough people to get a transition initiative moving. (cont)

Our vote in Wakefield District went up by 37 per cent compared with what it was in 2004. And across Yorkshire the Green vote increased by 40%. Only the Eastern and South Eastern regions managed to improve their votes by more.

With more resources and help, and in a less fragmented election, in less extraordinary circumstances, we can hope to continue to build on that next time. Please consider joining us, and helping us to make as sure as we can that we do.

At national level we retained our MEPs in London and the South East, but narrowly missed out on a seat in the Eastern region, and the North West, as we did in Yorkshire. The Green Party beat Labour in the South West region.

The Green group in the European parliament has been strengthened by a fantastic performance by Europe Écologie in France who now have as many members as Die Grünen, the traditionally strong German green movement.(cont)

Think the Green Party is only about the environment? Think again.

The Green Party is the only party that has the policies to tackle head-on the economic crisis and at the same time lay the foundations for a sustainable and fair society.

We reject as false the choice between 'economy' or the 'environment' - we CAN do both.

Our European Election manifesto set out a plan for creating 1 million jobs through investment in renewable energy, housing, public transport and social care.

We call this the Green New Deal - an approach to the economy that puts Britain firmly on the road to recovery, addresses the urgent climate crisis while improving the way we all lead our lives.(cont)