THE leader of the Green Party, Natalie Bennett, is coming to Taunton next week.

She will attend an open meeting from 6pm to 7.15pm at the Tangier Scout and Guide Centre on Monday (March 4) to launch the party manifesto for the May Somerset County Council elections.

The party leader will also take part in a question and answer session and all are welcome to attend.

Green Party groups across Somerset are planning to stand more candidates than ever before at the county council elections.

A spokesman said: “This will offer the electors of Somerset a real alternative to the failed policies of the coalition parties, which have stalled the economy at a national level while cutting jobs and services across the county.”

Speaking at the Green Party Conference on February 22, Natalie Bennett said: “In British politics it’s only the Green Party that gets climate change – has the ideas, the plans, the vision, to create a low-carbon, jobs-rich economy. And in the coming three years we have the chance to convince voters that we can fix our economic and environmental crises together – that this isn't an either-or choice, but an essential pairing.

“The Green Party has a positive alternative vision, of a country where the minimum wage is a living wage, where benefits are set at a level allowing a decent life and granted ungrudgingly to all who need them, where there are warm, comfortable low-carbon homes for all... A country living within the limits of our one planet.

“A country with a jobs-rich, low-carbon economy, with orchards and richly growing fields, vibrant manufacturing industries, and strong local economies built around small businesses and cooperatives. A country fit for the 21st Century - and a country that can look forward to a stable, comfortable 22nd.”

Elections for Somerset County Council take place on May 2.