South-East England’s Green MEP Caroline Lucas declared today that
REGIONAL development in the South-East of England SHOULD PRIORITISE HAPPINESS OVER ECONOMIC GROWTH - it should pursue human well-being rather than simple economic growth.

In ‘Living in the South-East’, a detailed response to a South East England Development Authority (SEEDA) public consultation on the region’s future, Dr. Lucas says the South-East’s rapid economic growth has done nothing to improve residents’ wellbeing - which has remained constant since 1972 in the face of rising crime, climate change, resource depletion and family breakdown.

Dr. Lucas said: “Instead of targeting simple economic growth, the South-East’s Regional Economic Strategy should put social well-being and environmental sustainability at its core, alongside increased economic efficiency.

Her comments are made in response to SEEDA’s public consultation on its ‘Regional Economic Strategy’ (RES) for the next decade, which proposes a strategy of seeking to maximize economic growth and develop the region’s so-called ‘knowledge economy’.

But Dr Lucas argues for a RES which tackles the region’s likely problems and challenges - from water shortages and road congestion to pockets of social deprivation and an ageing population - whilst measuring success using an Index of Sustainable and Environmental Welfare (ISEW).

An ISEW would not include ‘defensive’ spending to offset social and environmental costs - but would incorporate a value for unpaid caring and domestic work as well as reflecting changes in income distribution.

Dr Lucas said: “The South-East economy is over-heating: the absence of a coherent regional policy is increasing the imbalance between the South-East and the rest of the UK, and the pressure on the region’s resources and infrastructure.

“The Government has proposed new houses, roads and airports for the region when this will increase the pressure on the South-East’s fragile environment and widen the gap between its rich and poor - already wider than that between any of the UK’s regions.

“SEEDA’s RES will shape the future of the South-East for at least the next ten years - that’s why it’s so important that we get it right.

“Many of SEEDA’s proposals for ’smart growth’ are very welcome, such as its commitment to prioritise development on brownfield sites, and its neighbourhood regeneration proposals. But the South-East already boasts the highest economic growth in the UK and this does nothing to alleviate the region’s very real, and worsening, problems: the widening gap between rich and poor, traffic congestion and inadequate public transport, lack of affordable housing and increasing pressure on the region’s environment and natural resources.”

“Put simply, it is time to stop measuring economic success in terms of GDP growth alone and prioritise such factors as sustainability, quality of life and environmental protection too.”

Copies of ‘Living in the South-East’, Dr. Lukas submission to SEEDA, can be obtained from www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk or on request from Ben Duncan as follows:  ben at greenmeps.org.uk  href=”http://www.carolinelucasmep.org” title=”http://www.carolinelucasmep. ” target=”_blank”>www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk

or Ben Duncan Media Officer to Caroline Lucas MEP  benduncan at greenmeps.org.uk 01273 671946 (office) 07973 823358 (mobile)