Chris Smith pic: Raziye Akkoc

EastLondonLines asked Chris Smith about his campaign for the Green Party in City and East.

In the video below, Smith talks about the Bow Roundabout, the increase in youth unemployment, high transport fares, and what he thinks are the main issues in Tower Hamlets.  

Smith, from Bethnal Green, is a filmmaker and former television producer who now teaches social media marketing. He previously ran as parliamentary candidate for Limehouse & Poplar and as a council candidate in Bow West.

His pledges

 • “The Green Party were very much instrumental in getting the Barclays Bike hire scheme in place; they actually started the process before the current mayor came in to power. We want to encourage people to cycle in London.”

• “But Barclays bank gave £25m to the bike scheme and they also do Tfl’s banking and they charged Tfl £27m. In essence, the money Tfl got from the sponsorship has been cancelled out by the charges from Barclays.”

• Transport fares are “excessive”; the Green Party is “committed in its most recent pledge to reduce fares across the board.”

•  “We need to encourage more local entrepreneurs to set up businesses. One of the difficulties we have in Tesco Hamlets, as it’s sometimes called, is we have a lot of stores like Tesco who pay very low wages. They’re not even on the London Living Wage.”